Only 15 per cent of older people are taking enough exercise to stay healthy, according to the initial findings of a study due to be published soon.
The study was jointly commissioned by the Irish Sports Council and the "Go for Life" programme, which encourages older people to try to become more active.
It also found that four-in-10 older people would like to be more active than they are able to be. The findings were revealed yesterday as the Irish Sports Council announced €330,000 in sports grants for almost 600 older people's groups.
The funds are being provided under the "Go for Life" programme and will be spent on sports equipment and the funding of sport and activity programmes.
More than 800 applications were received from older people's groups for funding this year.
The 591 successful applicants include active retirement associations, senior citizens clubs, ICA guilds, sports clubs, Local Sports Partnerships as well as day centres and community centres around the State.
John Treacy, chief executive of the Irish Sports Council said that the relationship between sports participation and good health strengthened as people aged.
"In other words, the older you are, the more you have to gain health-wise from increasing the amount of even light physical activity you engage in," he explained.
Announcing the funding, Minister for Sport John O'Donoghue said that more than 3,000 grants had been allocated under the scheme to local groups in the past six years.
"These grants give groups greater choices about how to be more active and they are making a real difference to the quality of life of older people throughout the country," he said.
