Health Outcomes Associated with Community Senior Center Fitness Classes: Influence of Activity Type and Baseline Physical Activity Level

Serena A. Schade ^1,*, Julia O’Hanlon ², Elizabeth Orsega-Smith ¹

1. Health Behavior and Nutrition Sciences, University of Delaware, 210 South College Ave., Newark, DE, United States

2. Biden School of Public Policy and Administration, University of Delaware, 210 South College Ave., Newark, DE, United States

* Correspondence: Serena A. Schade

Academic Editor: Pedro Morouco

Received: June 09, 2025 | Accepted: September 08, 2025 | Published: September 12, 2025

OBM Geriatrics 2025, Volume 9, Issue 3, doi:10.21926/obm.geriatr.2503326

Recommended citation: Schade SA, O’Hanlon J, Orsega-Smith E. Health Outcomes Associated with Community Senior Center Fitness Classes: Influence of Activity Type and Baseline Physical Activity Level. OBM Geriatrics 2025; 9(3): 326; doi:10.21926/obm.geriatr.2503326.

© 2025 by the authors. This is an open access article distributed under the conditions of the Creative Commons by Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is correctly cited.

1. Introduction

As of 2022, there are 57.8 million adults over the age of 65 in the United States, with adults in this age group accounting for 21.3% of the population in Delaware [1,2]. These older adults are served by over 11,000 senior centers in the U.S. [3]. Senior centers are community anchors for older adults, offering a wide array of health, social, recreation, and nutrition assistance and classes through community facilities [3,4]. The state of Delaware is home to 37 senior centers, spanning 3 counties over 2,057 square miles, offering a variety of classes, health education, and meal programs to older adults [5].

Rowe and Kahns Successful Aging Model provides a framework for understanding the role senior center based exercise classes may have on older adults’ health [6]. Rowe and Kahn [6] discuss three key components of healthy aging, which include lowering disease risk and disability, maintaining mental and physical function, and engagement with life through social interaction or participating in meaningful activities. According to Rowe & Kahns framework, senior center exercise classes provide opportunities to impact healthy aging, which may decrease the risk of disease and disability. Aligning with this framework, these exercise classes may enhance mental function through learning new movements and skills and may improve physical function by increasing fitness (i.e. aerobic capacity or balance). Lastly, senior center exercise classes may fulfil the component of engagement with life, as older adults may build relationships and engage in social groups through these classes. Together, these benefits illustrate how senior center exercise classes are a valuable avenue for promoting successful aging according to this framework.

Supporting exercise engagement is essential within the older adult population, as regular exercise is associated with a decreased risk of chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases and cancers [7,8]. 37.3% of adults, over the age of 65, engage in no leisure-time exercise as of 2022 [9]. Barriers to exercise, such as physical limitations due to health conditions, fear of injury, lack of enjoyment of exercise, and inadequate instruction on how to engage in exercise, are one possible explanation for the lack of engagement by older adults [10]. Senior centers may facilitate exercise engagement in older adults by providing low-cost, safe exercise programs with their peers [11]. Exercise classes such as chair yoga, strength training, dance classes, and tai chi are commonly implementing in senior centers, as demonstrated by a survey in the United States (N = 500 senior centers), wherein 65% of centers offered strength and balance classes, 55% offered aerobics or dance classes, 32% of centers offered yoga or Pilates classes, and 29% offered Tai Chi [12].

There is a body of literature demonstrating the physical health benefits related to older adults participating in exercise classes at senior centers. Physical health is often defined in the literature as the ability to complete activities of daily living (ADLs) or levels of physical function, or as the presence or absence of illness [13,14]. In the present study, physical health is defined as one’s perceived ability to complete ADLs, the extent that pain or physical health impacts activities of daily living and social activities, and their general self-reported health as measured using the SF-12 [15]. Aerobic exercise classes (i.e. Nintendo Wii Sports, dance) are associated with improvements in perceived physical health [16,17]. Aerobics classes are also associated with significant improvements in measures of exercise and mobility [18,19,20]. Additionally, senior center chair yoga classes have been associated with decreases in reports of pain interfering with activities of daily living [21]. Another study found improvements in body composition, with increased lean mass and decreased fat mass after strength training [22]. These studies suggest that participating in senior center exercise classes provides benefits in both perceived health and functional measures of health and fitness.

The exercise classes offered in senior centers create opportunities for older adults to engage in regular exercise. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends for the older adult population, participating in aerobic exercise, muscle strengthening exercise, as well as balance and flexibility exercises each week [23]. While engaging in at least 150 minutes of moderate-vigorous intensity activity and 2 days of muscle strengthening activities per week is recommended, the ACSM stresses the importance for older adults to reduce sedentary time and engage in any amount of physical activity to gain health benefits as well as the importance of incorporating balance and flexibility training into their weekly physical activity [23]. The literature demonstrating a dose-response relationship between exercise and physical health, mental health, and quality of life in older adults is well established [24,25,26]. While all types of exercise provide health benefits, the type of exercise (i.e. aerobic training, strength training, and flexibility training) may differently impact mobility and physical fitness [27,28]. Several studies have found multimodal exercise programs to yield greater physical health benefits than aerobic or strength training alone [28,29]. In a study from Timmons and colleagues, community dwelling older adults completed multimodal exercise experienced greater increases in lower limb strength and decreases in abdominal fat in comparison to aerobic or muscle strengthening exercise alone [28]. Regarding mental health outcomes, previous literature has demonstrated improvements in mental health and quality of life regardless of aerobic, strength training, or mixed modality training [30,31].

Besides the physical health benefits, participating in senior center exercise classes may result in mental health benefits and improvements in overall quality of life. The CDC defines mental health as one’s sense of well-being (psychological, social, and emotional) [32]. Specifically, the SF-12 questionnaire used in the present study measures the impact of emotional problems on social engagement and other activities as well as distress and well-being as a measure of overall mental health [15]. Quality of life has broadly been defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as one’s view of their own life in relation to their goals, concerns, and standards which are influenced by cultural norms and value systems [33]. In the present study, quality of life is defined as one’s cognitive-judgement of their satisfaction with life across all domains [34]. In previous literature, one study found that participation in evidence-based, arthritis-friendly exercise classes (Tai Chi for Arthritis, Arthritis Exercise, Enhance Exercise, or Healthier Living) yielded lasting increases in social support during and at a 6-month post-program [35]. Participating in Bingocize with fall prevention education was associated with significant decreases in social isolation and fears of falling [36]. Additionally, dance-based exercise classes conducted in senior centers have been found to improve health-related quality of life and mental health [17,37,38]. Overall, senior center exercise classes offer older adults a variety of physical [16,18,22] and mental health [36,37,38] benefits by promoting regular exercise in a safe and social environment.

Through the Delaware State’s Division of Services for Aging and Adults with Physical Disabilities (DSAAPD) mini-grants, 16 senior centers in Delaware received funding for healthy aging opportunities in which 11 centers implemented exercise programs. Exercise class offerings included Cardio Drumming, yoga/chair yoga, Zumba, Tai Chi, bowling, strength training, water-based fitness classes, balance classes, line dancing, and Bingocize. The present study conducted a secondary analysis of data from a statewide health promotion program evaluation of DSAAPD mini-grant recipients [39]. The aims of this exploratory study were to examine (1) how does type of exercise (aerobic, muscular strengthening, balance and flexibility, participation in multiple class types) influence changes in perceived mental health, perceived physical health, and quality of life and (2) whether there are differences in these outcomes based on baseline physical activity level (inactive, moderately active, and active).

2. Materials and Methods

2.1 Participants

Participants included individuals at least 50 years of age who were already enrolled in exercise classes at participating senior centers. There were no exclusion criteria. The minimum age of 50 years was selected as senior center membership was available to those 50 years and older in most of the senior centers participating in this study. Senior center sites included those in the state of Delaware who were DSAAPD mini-grant recipients and implemented exercise classes. The study was conducted as a single group, quasi-experimental design with pre-and post-program assessments. As this study was part of an evaluation project, a control group was not used, and participants were not randomized. All senior center members who were participants in the health promotion programs at the senior centers were asked to participate in the evaluation. This was therefore a convenience sample of those participants who were willing to take part in the evaluation.

2.2 Ethics Statement

The Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the University of Delaware approved the study protocol on 03/04/2024 IRB number: [2157640-1].

2.3 Measures

Perceived physical and mental health were assessed using the Medical Outcomes Survey SF-12 [15]. The SF-12 is a 12-item survey designed to assess the patient’s perceived, generic health outcomes with questions such as, “During the PAST 4 WEEKS, how much did PAIN interfere with your normal work (including both work outside the home and housework)?” and “Have you felt downhearted and low?”. Previous literature has validated the SF-12 in the older adult population, with a Cronbach’s alpha = 0.86 indicating a high level of reliability and intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.59 indicating moderate program-reprogram validity [40].

Quality of life was assessed using the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) [34]. This 5-item scale measures one’s life satisfaction using a 7-point Likert scale, asking participants to rate their agreement with statements such as, “In most ways my life is close to my ideal.” The SWLS is scored on a scale of 5–35, wherein scores of 21 or greater represent varying degrees of satisfaction. The SWLS has been shown to be reliable in the older adult population with a Cronbach’s alpha = 0.899 and validity was demonstrated through an AVE score = 0.673 [41].

Physical activity levels were assessed using the Godin Leisure Time Exercise Questionnaire [42]. This assessment asks participants about their time spent in light, moderate, and strenuous exercise using the following prompt, “During a typical 7-Day period (a week), how many times on the average do you do the following kinds of exercise for more than 15 minutes during your free time” [42]. Time spent on physical activity was scored and categorized as recommended by Godin and colleagues [42]: inactive (≤14), moderately active (14–23), and active (≥24). In healthy adults, the Godin scale demonstrated program-reprogram reliability with the following reliability coefficients for strenuous (0.94), moderate (0.46), light (0.48), and sweat-inducing (0.80) exercise [43].

In addition to the aforementioned surveys, participants were asked demographic information such as age, sex, and living status at the pre-program timepoint. At the post-program, time point, participants were asked for the name of the exercise class they participated in.

2.4 Procedure

Upon consent, participants completed the pre-program questionnaire prior to or near the start of the series of exercise classes. Exercise class offerings were pre-determined by each senior center based on their individual needs and resources. These exercise classes were for one hour per week, varied in length from 6 to 13 weeks, and were delivered in-person. One center offered a synchronous, online option for their class. The post-program questionnaire was completed within two weeks of completion of each specific class at each senior center. The questionnaire was administered and collected by each site’s program director.

In order to examine the first aim, data were categorized by the type of exercise class (aerobics, muscular strengthening, balance and flexibility, and mixed). Aerobic classes included the following: Cardio Drumming, Zumba, line dancing, water-based exercise classes, and Bingocize. Muscular strengthening classes included strength training classes and bowling. The balance and flexibility category included the following classes: yoga, chair yoga, Tai Chi, and balance classes. The mixed category included participants who participated in two or more types of exercise classes (i.e. Zumba and chair yoga).

For the second aim of the study, participants’ physical activity levels were categorized by their pre-program Godin scores. Those with a pre-program score less than 14 were categorized as inactive, those with a score between 14 and 23 were categorized as moderately active, and those with a score of 24 or greater were categorized as active. These categories are based upon the Godin Leisure Time Exercise Questionnaire scoring recommendations [42].

2.5 Statistical Analysis

Data were analyzed via IBM SPSS for Windows version 29 (2022; IBM Corporation, Armonk, NY, USA) software. Means and standard deviations were calculated for variables of interest. Paired sample t-tests were used to compare pre-and post-program health outcome scores across all participants. A multiple linear regression analysis was used to test if the type of exercise class participated in, baseline activity level, age, sex, or pre-program scores significantly predicted the post-program perceived mental and physical health and quality of life. One model was run for each health outcome (mental health, physical health, and quality of life).

3. Results

3.1 Participants

One hundred and forty-one participants completed both pre-and post-program assessments and were included in the final analysis.

Participants (N = 141; age: 74.4 ± 8.1 years; see Table 1) were primarily female (n = 122; 87.1%), identified as white (n = 111; 78.7%), and were living alone in their own home (n = 60; 43.2%) or living with a spouse (n = 58; 41.7%). Based on Godin scores [42], participants were categorized as physically inactive, with a score of less than 14 (n = 54; 38.3%), moderately active with a score between 14–23 (n = 24; 17.0%), or active with a score of greater than 24 (n = 45; 31.9%). In the results of a Chi-Square test of independence, there was no statistically significant difference in demographic variables between the types of exercise classes participated in. However, when comparing scores from the Godin Leisure Time Exercise Questionnaire based on type of exercise class, the results were statistically significant, χ²(123, 122) = 152.71, p = 0.04, indicating that the distribution of Godin scores differed by the type of exercise class participated in. Adjusted residuals indicated that the Muscle Strengthening group had significantly lower pre-program Godin scores compared to those who participated in other exercise class types. To assess changes in health outcomes across all participants (N = 141), paired sample t-tests were conducted to compare pre-and post-program scores. Results indicated significant improvements in perceived mental health with a medium effect size (pre: 70.2 ± 15.9 vs. post: 76.2 ± 15.5; p < 0.001; d = 0.39) and quality of life with a small effect size (pre: 25.2 ± 6.0 vs. post: 26.1 ± 5.5; p = 0.02; d = 0.21), but no significant difference in perceived physical health (pre: 71.1 ± 25.5 vs. post: 69.7 ± 22.1 p = 0.45; d = 0.06; see Figure 1).

Table 1 Descriptive Statistics for All Groups.

Figure 1 Changes in health outcomes for all groups. Paired sample t-tests examined pre-and post-program differences in (A) perceived mental health, (B) perceived physical health, and (C) quality of life (N = 141).

3.2 Mental Health

The first linear regression model tested whether post-program mental health was significantly predicted by exercise class type, baseline physical activity level, pre-program mental health scores, age, and sex. The regression equation is as follows:

\[ \begin{aligned}\text{Post}\,-\,\text{Program Mental Health}&=25.208+0.500\,*\,(\mathrm{pre}\,-\,\text{program mental health)}\\&+0.449\,*\,(\text{exercise class type})\,+\,0.077\,*\,(\mathrm{age})\\&+3.311\,*\,(\mathrm{sex})+2.427\,*\,(\text{physical activity level)}\end{aligned} \]

The overall model was statistically significant (F(5,112) = 9.22, p < 0.001), predicting 26% of the variance in post-program mental health scores (adjusted R² = 0.26). Pre-program mental health scores significantly predicted post-program mental health scores (β = 0.488, p < 0.001; see Table 2). However, exercise class type (β = 0.03, p = 0.71), physical activity level (β = 0.138, p = 0.12), age (β = 0.04, p = 0.62), and sex (β = 0.074, p = 0.36) were not significant predictors of post-program mental health scores when participating in senior center exercise classes (Table 2).

Table 2 Factors Predicting Mental Health.

3.3 Perceived Physical Health

A second linear regression model tested whether post-program physical health was significantly predicted by exercise class type, baseline physical activity level, pre-program physical health scores, age, and sex. The regression equation is as follows:

\[ \begin{aligned}\text{Post}\,-\,\text{Program Physical Health}&=45.414\,+\,0.547\,*\,(\mathrm{pre}\,-\,\text{program physical health})\\&-2.72\,*\,(\text{exercise class type})\,-\,0.087\,*\,(\mathrm{age})\\&-0.872\,*\,(\mathrm{sex})-0.687\,*\,(\text{physical activity level)}\end{aligned} \]

The overall model was statistically significant (F(5,113) = 15.25, p < 0.001), predicting 37.7% of the variance in post-program physical health scores (adjusted R² = 0.377). Pre-program physical health scores significantly predicted post-program physical health scores (β = 0.632, p < 0.001; see Table 3). However, exercise class type (β = -0.131, p = 0.09), physical activity level (β = -0.028, p = 0.78), age (β = -0.032, p = 0.66), and sex (β = -0.014, p = 0.85) were not significant predictors of post-program physical health scores when participating in senior center exercise classes (see Table 3).

Table 3 Factors Predicting Physical Health.

3.4 Quality of Life

The third linear regression model tested whether post-program quality of life was significantly predicted by exercise class type, baseline physical activity level, pre-program quality of life scores, age, and sex. The regression equation is as follows:

\[ \begin{aligned}\mathrm{Post}\,-\,\text{Program Quality of Life}&=9.278\,+\,0.609\,*\,(\mathrm{pre}\,-\,\text{program quality of life})\\&+0.075\,*\,(\text{exercise class type})\,+\,0.01\,*\,(\mathrm{age})\\&-0.067\,*\,(\mathrm{sex})\,+\,0.364\,*\,(\text{physical activity level})\end{aligned} \]

The overall model was statistically significant (F(5,103) = 16.72, p < 0.001), predicting 42.1% of the variance in post-program quality of life scores (adjusted R² = 0.421). Pre-program quality of life significantly predicted post-program quality of life scores (β = 0.66, p < 0.001; see Table 4). However, exercise class type (β = 0.015, p = 0.85), physical activity level (β = 0.06, p = 0.45), age (β = 0.015, p = 0.84), and sex (β = -0.004, p = 0.96) were not significant predictors of post-program quality of life scores when participating in senior center exercise classes (see Table 4).

Table 4 Factors Predicting Quality of Life.

4. Discussion

The aims of the present study were to examine the following research questions: (1) how does the type of exercise class (aerobic, muscular strengthening, balance and flexibility, and mixed class participation) influence changes in perceived mental health, perceived physical health, and quality of life and (2) are there differences in these outcomes based on baseline physical activity level as measured by the Godin scale (inactive, moderately active, and active).

When examining the group of senior center participants as a whole, there were significant improvements in perceived mental health and quality of life when comparing pre- to post-program scores. Previous literature demonstrated that senior center exercise programs may provide improvements in measures of mental health [17,35,38] and quality of life [22]. The exercise programs associated with mental health benefits in previous literature were primarily aerobic classes. However, two studies examined other types of exercise classes, including one study utilizing muscular strength training and flexibility training to examine measures of physical fitness and quality of life [27] and another study examined the impact of arthritis friendly classes on measures of social support and loneliness [35]. Notably, there were no significant changes in perceived physical health which contrasts with previous literature [17,19,20]. However, this may be due to using a self-reported measure of physical health rather than functional testing or the varied durations of the senior center exercise programs included in the present study.

The senior centers examined in the present study offered exercise programs based on their own site-specific needs and each site implemented classes with their own instructors. The majority of senior centers sites offered their classes once per week with 1-hour, in-person classes that varied from 6 weeks to 13 weeks in duration. One center offered a synchronous, virtual option for chair yoga via Zoom in addition to an in-person chair yoga class. One center offered multiple skill-level based class options for arthritis-focused land and aquatics-based classes. The exercise classes offered across the Delaware senior centers who received the mini-grant funding included line dancing, aquatics, mat yoga, chair yoga, tai chi, bowling, walking, strength training, and chair cardio, as well as the following evidence-based exercise classes, Bingocize, Matter of Balance, Zumba Gold, and Cardio Drumming. Notably, the most popular offerings were line dancing or Zumba (4 sites), yoga (4 sites), and Tai Chi (3 sites).

The types of exercise classes (aerobics, muscular strengthening, balance and flexibility, and mixed class types), age, and sex were not significant predictors of post-program perceived physical health, perceived mental health, and quality of life scores. However, pre-program perceived physical health, mental health, and quality of life scores were significant predictors of their respective outcomes. Although not conducted in the senior center setting, another study had similar findings when comparing the effects of aerobic exercise and strength training in community-dwelling older adults (N = 57; age: 68 ± 5.5 years) [31]. Both groups experienced significant improvements in perceived mental health, as measured by the SF-36. When comparing pre-and post-program scores following an eight-month exercise program conducted three times per week, the aerobic exercise group saw greater increases in general health and mental health compared to the strength training group [31]. In another study comparing aerobic (n = 20) and flexibility (n = 20) training adults twice per week for 10-weeks in older, neither group experienced changes in quality of life [27]. This discrepancy may be due to the differences in the lengths of these interventions. The mixed findings in previous literature indicate that further research is needed to understand the benefits of different types of exercise classes for older adults.

Our results suggested that regardless of their age, sex, and baseline physical activity level, older adults participating in senior center exercise classes experienced improved outcomes in perceived mental health and quality of life. However, pre-program perceived physical health, mental health, and quality of life scores predicted their respective outcomes. Despite significant differences in baseline physical activity level, with those who participated in muscular strengthening classes reporting lower baseline physical activity participation, there was no relation between baseline physical activity level and changes in perceived physical or mental health or quality of life. In a study by Hand and colleagues, previously sedentary individuals attending senior center exercise classes experienced significant improvements in perceived health (MOS SF-36) and in measures of physical function (i.e. sit-to-stand program and arm curls) [37]. Hand and colleagues did not compare the benefits across different levels of pre-program activity when examining senior center exercise class participation [37]. Given the well-established, dose-response relationship between exercise and health benefits, groups with any level of physical activity may see improvements upon increasing their physical activity [24,25].

Our findings suggest participating in senior center exercise classes may yield improvements in perceived mental health as well as quality of life, but these improvements are not impacted by the type of exercise class or by the participants baseline physical activity level. This suggests that other factors are influencing these improvements. It may be that simply engaging in any form of regular exercise may contribute to any change in mental health and quality of life [44,45]. One other key factor discussed in previous literature is the social aspect of senior center participation as social connections have been found to impact quality of life and mental health [46]. In the present study, SF-12 items measuring mental health included items such as “Have you felt downhearted and low?”, “Have you felt calm and peaceful?”, and items regarding the extent to which “emotional problems” impede their ability to complete daily tasks. The older adults may be impacted by their social interactions, as senior centers provide a sense of camaraderie and support for older adults. Keyes and colleagues surveyed members (N = 924) of 10 senior centers in the southwestern United States, found that having close friends in a senior center exercise class significantly impacted the likelihood of attendance (p = 0.03) [47]. Senior center members (n = 10) expressed that the friends they have made at the senior center gave them a sense of security and gave them a place to express their thoughts with likeminded individuals, as well as that these friendships give them a sense of meaning and community [48]. It is possible that merely by participating in a senior center exercise class, interactions and connections lead to improvements in their perceived mental health scores on the SF-12.

The present study has several limitations including the lack of diversity of the participants and the lack of control associated with the implementation of the exercise classes in each center. Participants in the present study were predominantly white females limiting the generalizable to the U.S. population of older adults. However, this population was representative of the population attending senior center programs. Previous literature has demonstrated that males are less likely to attend senior centers [49,50]. The population in the present study primarily identified as white (78%) or black/African American (18.1%), but a limited number of participants identified as other racial/ethnic groups such as Asian (0.8%), Hispanic (2.4%), or Native American or Alaskan Native (0.8%). Notably, the study population was representative of the population in the state of Delaware where 77.1% of older adults identify as white, 15.6% as black/African-American, 2.7% as Asian, 3.4% as Hispanic, and 0.4% as American-Indian/Alaskan-native [51]. Additionally, this study included those who voluntarily enrolled in senior center exercise classes, introducing a selection bias. It is possible that those who are generally healthy or who are more engaged socially are the individuals who sought out exercise classes at their senior centers. The exercise classes do not capture the older adult population who are not members of senior centers. There were a variety of exercise classes tailored to the senior center based on their member preferences, senior center access to trained exercise instructors, and the resources available at each senior center. However, it was difficult to ascertain the impact of specific types of exercise classes (i.e. water aerobics vs. Cardio Drumming) on health outcomes. The present study demonstrates real-world applicability by including a variety of exercise classes that older adults may participate in or that may be feasible for the senior center.

Strengths of the present study include the examination of a wide range of exercise classes, the quasi-experimental design with real-world application, and the use of validated measures. The present study adds to the limited literature examining different types of exercise classes in senior centers [27,31]. Participants had the option to engage in the exercise classes of their choice based on the types of exercise classes they enjoy, that fit their schedules, and availability at the senior centers. Participants’ age spanned a large range (51–95 years) which was all inclusive of the typical ages of those attending senior centers. These aspects of the study contribute to being able to capture realistic participation in senior center programs. The present study adds to the limited literature examining the impact of pre-program physical activity level on health outcomes. The use of validated measures strengthened the assessment of health outcomes and successful aging in the older adult population.

Future studies could investigate the effects of specific types of exercise classes or standardize class duration to better understand how these factors influence health outcomes. Given that the present study primarily included female participants, future research should explore strategies to increase male participation in senior center exercise classes and examine whether males experience similar health benefits from class participation.

5. Conclusions

The present study examined the influence of exercise class type and baseline physical activity level on perceived physical and mental health and quality of life in older adults attending senior centers. Our findings suggest that older adults experience improvements in perceived mental health and quality of life through participation in senior center exercise classes. These findings were regardless of one’s age, baseline physical activity level, or the type of exercise class taken. These results highlight the value of senior center exercise programs as accessible, community-based resources that can promote well-being in the aging population. Given the growing number of older adults in the United States, sustaining exercise programs within senior centers may be a cost-effective public health strategy to support healthy aging, by improving older adults’ mental health and quality of life. Senior center directors may use these findings to justify funding requests, diversify program offerings, and build programs that benefit older adults. In senior centers with limited resources, exercise classes could be implemented through online tools such as Zoom, exercise class videos, or active video games. Additionally, it may be beneficial for senior centers to build collaborations with local fitness centers, libraries, or other senior centers. For example, these partners may be able to offer discounted memberships, may be able to provide on-site, tailored instruction for older adults or may provide spaces in their own centers where older adults feel comfortable to exercise.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank all participants and senior center administrators, Brynna Torpey, Mihret Walelgne, Jillian Orellano, and Valerie Simmet for assisting with the study.

Author Contributions

S.S. contributed to the analysis and interpretation of data and drafting the paper. J.O. contributed to the conception and design of the study and revised the paper. E.OS. contributed to conception and design of the study, analysis and interpretation of the data, revising the paper, and providing final approval.

Competing Interests

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.