The Active Aging Agenda, Old Folk Devils and a New Moral Panic.

The article examines the concept of so-called active aging for older people, particularly how that idea is used to promote exercise and physical fitness for older people. Claims that exercise by older people have both health and social benefits are considered. Public policy documents, research papers and reports in mass media on those alleged benefits are examined in terms of the concept of moral panic. It notes that promotion of exercise among older people creates a market for the products and services they need to engage in.