ABSTRACT
The 2001 census showed that over a fifth of the UK population is now aged over 60. Furthermore, the number of people aged 65 and over is expected to increase at 10 times the overall rate of population growth over the next 40 years and the number of people over the age of 80 is expected to treble in the next quarter of a century (Dean, 2003). The rapid growth of the ageing population, especially amongst the oldest old, means that preventing or delaying the onset of physical frailty and increasing the number of years spent in good health has become an important public health goal.
