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Ageing, Old Age and Ageism

Our topic is old age and ageism. Here are some statistics to mull over before the discussion:

• Global life expectancy has doubled in the last 140 years: 2/3 of that increase has been since 1900
• In 1901 37% deaths were between ages 0-4; 12% deaths over 75.
• In 1999 0.8% deaths were between ages 0-4; 64% deaths over 75.
• 100,000 people currently in their 40s will live to over 100.

The medical historian, the late Roy Porter, reflecting on these trends worried that the “ignominious destiny” of medicine in the future would be “bestowing meagre increments of unenjoyed life”.

So… are we all set for a long, drawn-out process of decline or can most of us look forward to a long period of healthy, active retirement a predicted by Ray Tallis?

Reading

Is The Ageing Population a Threat To Sustainable Health Care?

Paper by Pofessor Raymond Tallis, Professor of Geriatric Medicine, University of Manchester British Association for the Advancement of Science. (Sep 2003)

Are we destined for a frail old age?

Most people would jump at the chance of living longer. After spending 40 years working the thought of a long, relaxing retirement seems appealing. Experts predict health care costs are going to rise over the coming years. But if a longer life meant an increase in the length of ill health would people still feel the same?

Replacement body parts offer active old age for future pensioners

A generation set to live to 100 will benefit from from £50m bio-technology research project. Expect not only a ripe old age but a fit old age, scientists said yesterday at the launch of a research initiative on replacing worn-out body parts and allowing everyone to be as active in their second half-century as they were in their first. More than half of all babies born today in rich nations will live to be 100, according to research published recently in the Lancet. But as joints begin to crumble, arteries fur up and teeth fall out, the prospect may not always be a happy one. (Guardian.co.uk – 20 Oct 2009)

Old age begins at 27: Scientists reveal new research into ageing

Old age is often blamed for causing us to misplace car keys, forget a word or lose our train of thought. But new research shows that many well-known effects of ageing may start decades before our twilight years. According to scientists, our mental abilities begin to decline from the age of 27 after reaching a peak at 22. (15 Mar 2009)

Old faces, new lives

Why do we think old age is a burdensome, debilitated state? Raymond Tallis says it is because we cannot conceive of life beyond children and careers. Last week came the news that an estimated 100,000 people in Britain now in their thirties will live to be 100. In the United States, most middle-aged Americans have more living grandparents than children, and senior citizens outnumber teenagers. (Raymond Tallis – 9 July 1999)

Raymond Tallis – Living longer, healthier lives

Given that most people think that it is better to be alive than dead, one might expect that the increased longevity of the population would have been greeted with universal joy. (The Times – 22 Oct 2005)

Biology & Philosophy of Growing Old

Gerontological Incertitude

The human race has spent millennia celebrating, damning and defying old age. But understanding it, from a scientific standpoint, has long proved elusive. Why does the body alter so dramatically with time? In the past decade, new tools and fresh ideas have started to give researchers a grip on the ‘what’ of ageing - the complex changes that go on within the body‘s cells over time. They even have some inkling as to the ‘how’ of ageing, the biochemical processes which may trigger these cellular phenomena. But why the body should become more prone to these pressures in the first place is much debated. Ageing is one of nature‘s almost universal phenomena  – virtually all multicellular creatures, if given a chance, will go through the process -- but still one of its most mysterious.

Evolutionary theories of aging

Before the theory of evolution, the process of aging was seen in the same way that moving parts wear out, machines break down, and all things seem to slowly deteriorate over time. After the development of evolutionary theory, scientists began to wonder why evolution had produced such complex and well-adapted creatures that were so successful at surviving from conception through to adulthood, but which then fell into decay and died.

Ageism

Ageism is stereotyping and prejudice against individuals or groups because of their age. The term was coined in 1969 by US gerontologist Robert N. Butler to describe discrimination against seniors and patterned on sexism and racism. The term has also been used to describe discrimination against teens and children, by ignoring their ideas because they‘re young or by # assuming that they should behave a certain way because of their age.

Help the Aged website