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01 Oct

The Power of Social Connection in Healthy Ageing

By Laura Childs 01st Oct, 2025 Leisure Rehabilitation Export Health

This International Day for Older Persons, we celebrate just some of the operators building connections, reducing isolation and enriching the lives of older people.

Building Belonging: Celebrating the Power of our Social Connections is the UK theme for this year’s United Nations International Day for Older Persons (1st Oct 2025). It couldn’t be more apt   coming just three months after the launch of the World Health Organization’s landmark report calling for urgent action to tackle widespread loneliness and social isolation.

The WHO had already declared loneliness as a global public health concern, and its latest report shared some depressing statistics. One in six people worldwide is affected by loneliness (between 2014 and 2023), with 871,000 deaths attributed to social disconnection each year (2014-2019). Loneliness and the lack of social contact has also been linked to heart disease, stroke, depression and anxiety.

Some groups are more likely to feel lonely or isolated than others. Here in the UK, 940,000 older people (aged 65+)* are often lonely, while 270,000 older people (aged 65+)* in England go a week without speaking to a friend or family member – that’s around one in 40 people aged 65+.

Like almost everywhere else in the world, the UK is experiencing a growing ageing population, so the issue is likely to get worse.

Encouraging social interaction

The good news is that lots can be done to tackle loneliness, and leisure centres and other community settings are ideally placed to help older people build social connections. How do we know? Because we see it every day.

Take Pendle Leisure Centre, which has transformed its Feelgood Suite into a social hub.  With the average age of users ranging from 60 to 70, the facility caters for people with mobility issues, stroke recovery, cardiac conditions as well as balance and coordination issues. The suite’s power-assisted exercise circuit naturally encourages social interaction between users. Pendle has extended this social experience beyond the suite by creating a book club/library area with comfy chairs where members can relax, chat and exchange books.

“For some people, it’s the only social interaction they get all day, especially in the winter months,” says centre manager Shaun Grant.

The centre also hosts regular coffee mornings as well as an annual Christmas party where Feelgood members come together to eat, drink, dance and have a singalong.

Making new connections

As people age life changes such as retirement, bereavement, living alone or caring for a loved one can exacerbate feelings of loneliness. Older people may find their social circle has reduced giving them fewer opportunities to socialise.

Elena Theodosiou, supervisor of the FeelGood Factory in Ramsgate, has worked hard to create a welcoming space at the power-assisted exercise suite to offer members that vital social connection.

“We have a real sense of community and are more inviting than the average gym, which some people find intimidating. You can use a gym for months without anyone saying hello to you, but when our members spot a new user, they’ll talk to them straight away, explain the types of things we do and how they’re going to love it. We are a very friendly, welcoming bunch,” she says.

Most members are aged over 65 and typically visit the studio three times a week.

“A lot of my clients live on their own and we might be the only people they speak to that day. The last thing they want to do is exercise in a silent room. We chat about all sorts of things, but if it does go quiet, I go online to find the latest news stories to get the conversation flowing again in the group. Sometimes I sit in the middle of the room and we’ll all do a crossword together.”

Creating safe, accessible spaces

Many older people have mobility issues or chronic health conditions, which can make it difficult to engage in activities and build social connections. Creating friendly, safe and accessible spaces should be a priority for operators working with older adults and Lincs Inspire has done just that with its Wellness Hub.

The first site in the UK to be awarded Innerva Centre of Excellence status, Lincs Inspire moved its power-assisted exercise studio to the ground floor and expanded its offering to improve access and meet demand.

It now has a thriving loyal membership; people who may have previously felt excluded from mainstream health and fitness facilities due to their age, health or lack of confidence. 

“For many people, the social aspect of the hub is more important than the physical activity it offers. A lot of individuals present with mental health issues or even just weight gain, which has led to unhappiness and caused them to have become withdrawn and isolated. The Wellness Hub offers an avenue to get back out into the community and re-engage,” explains Health Improvement co-ordinator, Ian Shorley-Harlow.

Many members use the hub on the same day and at the same time each week, which helps to form strong friendships. Two ladies have formed a lovely friendship at the hub. Sandy (63) was referred by her GP due to back pain which left her unable to work, while Margaret (80) was encouraged by her family to join following the death of her husband. Margaret says: “I’ve met so many friendly people but especially Sandy. We just get on so well. She makes me feel so much better. I have really come out of myself and now enjoy getting out and about.”

And an elderly couple who met at the hub are now engaged.

Social wellbeing is essential to both physical and mental health, and meaningful connection is critical that. As these examples show, leisure centres and community settings are uniquely placed to help older people build relationships, combat loneliness and strengthen their sense of belonging. Health is about more than the physical; it’s about feeling connected, valued and supported.

 

A member of the Wellbeing Suite at Doncaster Culture and Leisure Trust’s Askern Leisure Centre, sums it up best.

“It’s not only good for your body; it’s good for your mind. We enjoy ourselves and we make friends. Since coming here and using this equipment, I’ve lost over six stone. But the reason I come now is the people.”

To hear from some members at Doncaster Culture & Leisure Trust's Askern Centre about the importance of the wellness suite on their social connectedness see our short video: