Approximately 50% of people over the age of 55 live with a chronic disease. This rises to 75% by the age of 70. The Living Well with Chronic Disease theme develops research that supports people living with chronic diseases (LWCD) to increase their physical activity.

This helps to prevent chronic disease, slows down the process of disease, and allows people to remain independent for longer as they age. Physical activity interventions both support people who live with a long-term condition to move more and address disease-specific symptoms.

We aim to build diverse, cross-disciplinary teams which use whole systems approaches to address the challenges of facilitating people living with chronic disease to move more. We build evaluative and analytical capacity for the study of activity and wellbeing in people living with chronic disease. The principles of co-design and co-production are a key feature of our research and we use these approaches to develop sustainable interventions that tackle inequalities, reduce the burden of disease, and increase quality of life for people living with chronic disease.

Key areas of focus

• Cancer
• Musculoskeletal conditions
• Long Covid
• Mental Health
• Neurological conditions
• Metabolic Conditions