THE INCREASING NUMBER OF OLDER PEOPLE IN THE U.

THE INCREASING NUMBER OF OLDER PEOPLE IN THE U.S. MEANS THAT IN 15 YEARS, UP TO 50 MILLION AMERICANS WILL BE OVER 65 AND IN NEED OF SAFE, COST-EFFECTIVE EXERCISE PROGRAMS IN WHICH THEY WANT TO PARTICIPATE. PRACTICALLY NO SYSTEMATIC INVESTIGATIONS HAVE BEEN CONDUCTED INTO THE ROLE WHICH INFORMATION SYSTEMS CAN PLAY IN IMPROVING SUCH EXERCISE PROGRAMS. THIS PROGRAM AIMS TO DEMONSTRATE THE KEY ROLE WHICH INFORMATION FEEDBACK CAN PLAY IN MOTIVATING OLDER PEOPLE TO ENGAGE IN EFFECTIVE, LONG-TERM EXERCISE PROGRAMS AND TO SHOW HOW AN EXERCISE INFORMATION SYSTEM CAN CONTRIBUTE TO EXERCISE PROGRAM COST REDUCTIONS AND SAFETY. DURING THE FIRST PHASE, A PROTOTYPE EXERCISE INFORMATION SYSTEM WILL BE CONSTRUCTED, INSTALLED IN A FACILITY ENVIRONMENT, AND FUNCTIONALLY TESTED. THIS PROTOTYPE SYSTEM WILL BE BASED ON A COMPREHENSIVE EXERCISE INFORMATION SYSTEM TO BE BUILT DURING PHASE 2 WHICH CAN BE USED IN BOTH A FACILITY OR HOME ENVIRONMENT. TO MITIGATE THE UNDESIRABLE PHYSICAL DETERIORATION WHICH OCCURS THROUGH LACK OF USE DURING AGING, PEOPLE MUST BE MOTIVATED TO PARTICIPATE IN EFFECTIVE, LONG-TERM EXERCISE PROGRAMS. WITHOUT INNOVATIONS IN EXERCISE METHODS AND TECHNOLOGY, MANY OLDER PEOPLE WILL BE EXCLUDED FROM THE MOST EFFECTIVE PROGRAMS BY HIGH COST, UNCERTAINTY OF SAFETY, AND LACK OF MOTIVATION.