This paper sets the scene and provides a conceptual framework for the articles in this special issue. They present the findings of research on European residents who have reached or are on the threshold of old age and whose current circumstances have been strongly influenced by a migration across an international border. Such ‘older migrants’ are scattered throughout Europe and they have especially diverse characteristics. They include some of the most deprived and socially excluded, and some of the most affluent and accomplished, but all to a greater or lesser extent are disadvantaged through an interaction between social policies and their ‘otherness’ by living in a foreign country. Some claim attention through the severity of their unmet health and welfare needs and poor capacity to access advice and treatment, while the affluent groups are of great interest to social gerontology because of their enterprising, developmental and positive approaches to old age. They include among the most innovative of the latest generation of older people, who pursue new combinations of family responsibilities, leisure pursuits and income generation. The paper proposes that the concept ‘human capital’ summarises variations in preparedness for old age, that is, the resources by which people cope with demands for income, roles, treatment, care and support. A typology of the ‘welfare position’ of international migrants in contemporary Europe is presented.

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In spite of the many studies conducted over the past decades, the field of inquiry known as cross-cultural gerontology remains atheoretical. This is because of its shortcomings in generating culturally-relevant theoretical frameworks of its own. In this article, I address this failure and adapt Kluckhohn's model of value orientations for use in the study of ageing-related concepts. I discuss possible applications of the adapted model and, in particular, its application to one of the most frequently debated concepts in gerontology, successful ageing. In the light of this discussion, I conclude that the culturally-relevant theoretical framework hereby proposed could lead to the rectification of the current atheoretical predicament of cross-cultural gerontology.

Physical activity is important in obesity prevention, but the effectiveness of different physical activity modalities remains to be determined among children. The main purpose of this study was to compare the effects of a 6-month soccer programme and a traditional physical activity programme on changes in body composition, cardiometabolic risk factors, inflammatory and oxidative markers, cardiorespiratory fitness and perceived psychological status in obese boys. Eighty-eight boys (8-12 years; BMI > +2 standard deviations of WHO reference values) participated in one of three groups: soccer, traditional activity and control. Soccer and traditional activity programmes involved 3 sessions per week for 60-90 min at an average intensity of 70-80% of maximal heart rate. Control group participated in activities of normal daily living. All boys participated in school physical education, two sessions per week of 45-90-min. Measurements were taken at baseline and after 6 months, and included body size and composition, cardiometabolic risk factors, inflammatory and oxidative markers, cardiorespiratory fitness and perceived psychological status. Physical activity and dietary intake were assessed before and immediately following the intervention. The three groups had similar characteristics at baseline. After 6 months, both intervention groups had significantly lower relative fatness (% fat), waist circumference and total cholesterol, and higher cardiorespiratory fitness, self-esteem, perceived physical competence and attraction to physical activity compared with control group. In conclusion, physical activity interventions over 6 months positively influenced several indicators of health status among obese boys. The results also suggested that soccer has the potential as an effective tool for the prevention and reduction of childhood obesity and associated consequences.

The findings suggest that physical activity, apart from maintaining body functions, can be a way to sustain well-being and selfhood in mild AD. This aspect of physical activity is important to consider in research, policy and practice when addressing the needs of people with dementia.

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The globalisation of international migration has increased the ethnic diversity of most ageing populations across the Western world. This has implications for gerontological research, policy and practice, and puts our understandings of ethnicity to the test. This paper presents the different perspectives that inform ethnicity scholarship (the essentialist/primordial perspective, the structuralist/circumstantialist perspective and social constructionism) and suggests that the way in which we regard ethnicity has implications for how gerontological research is designed, how policies for old age are formulated and how gerontological practice is shaped. Through a review of contemporary gerontological research on ethnicity published in some of gerontology's main journals, the paper discusses some of the trends observed and concludes that most research seems to be informed by essentialism and structuralism. This suggests that the gerontological imagination on ethnicity has yet to be informed by the latest developments in ethnicity scholarship. The paper therefore urges gerontologists to broaden their understanding of ethnicity and suggests that much could be gained if we were to let the social constructionist perspective on ethnicity and the notion of intersectionality be sources of inspiration for the gerontological imagination on ethnicity.

It is a well-known fact that cultural values play an important role in the construction of aging and old-age related understandings. This is why ethnogerontologists have tried to expand the gerontological imagination by arguing that research needs to become more culturally-relevant. Tapping into the values that people uphold and the understandings of aging that are shaped by them is a challenging endeavor. This is especially the case if one does not share the cultural background of the people whose values one is studying. The same holds true when one wants to shed light on understandings that mainstream social gerontology regards as deviations from the norm. It is after all relatively easy to "impose the Western template" under such circumstances. Vignette methodology has been found to be particularly useful when studying value-laden understandings. This is why it is an appropriate method to consider when designing research that aims to avoid the imposition of the Western template. This article focuses on the pros and cons of this methodology while discussing some of the lessons learned from a project that explored how the construct of successful aging is understood by a group of Iranian immigrants to Sweden. It will be argued that vignettes are particularly useful when trying to shed culturally-relevant light on aging and old age-related understandings.