Healthy Aging – Are you aging successfully?

Pamela Egan Practical Practitioner

By: Pam Egan, FNP-C CDE


Healthy Aging: Are you aging successfully?

What is aging?

In the June 1944 issue of “The Scientific Monthly,” E.J. Stieglitz divided the latter half of life into three periods: ages 40 to 60, ages 60 to 75, and age 75 or older. He had originally classified the last period as “senility,” but that term is no longer acceptable.

Another way to define aging is to separate it into middle age (ages 35 to 55), advanced middle age (ages 56 to 74), aging (ages 75 to 84) and elderly (ages 85 and older).

The world’s population is growing, particularly in developed nations, and the needs of those older than 85 present the greatest challenge to society.

So what is the expected human life span? Most say “between 70 and 80 years.” The average age at which people die has increased in the last two millennia because people are less likely to die as infants and children now than they were 2,000 years ago. However, the maximum human life span – how long a human is capable of living – ranges from 80 to 120 years and has not changed.

It is a popular misconception that as people age, they become more alike – gray hair, stooped spine, toothless and forgetful. The truth is that as people age, they become less alike. Differences in vitality become much more striking between those who age successfully and those who don’t.

It’s true that as most people age, they become less able to adapt to changes in their environment.Their risk of disease and death also increases. But these normal aspects of aging differ greatly between people. In other words, some become much less able to cope with change than others, and some become much more prone to disease than others.

Now that we have an idea of what aging is, how do we define successful aging? In their book “Successful Aging” (Pantheon Books, 1998), John Rowe and Robert Kahn comment on the results of the MacArthur Foundation Study of Aging in America. They state that successful aging is marked by a “low risk of disease and disease-related disability; high mental and physical function; and active engagement with life.

“J. Evert and associates, in the March 2003 issue of the “Journal of Gerontology,” examined the health histories of those who lived to be 100 years old or older. About a third of the group had survived a major illness before age 80, a third didn’t experience a major illness until they were older than 80, and a third had escaped major illness entirely.

If you aren’t, how can you change that? In the “Journal of Gerontology” article, the researchers conclude that there are many ways to reach exceptional old age successfully. Genetics may play a role. A gene controlling the life span of the tiny tubeworm, C. elegans, has been discovered. This Methuselah gene has sparked a search for other genes in plants and animals that control the life span. These genes, called gerontogenes are thought by some scientists to exist in all organisms, from plants and worms to humans.

While the extent to which gentics factors in determining life span is not fully know, what is knows is that genes are not the only factor. Another key to aging successfully lies in how well one responds to stress and whether one is able to make the most of the opportunities presented in life.

So, are you committed to successfully controlling the course of your life?

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