Myths of Aging

Fifty-Plus Fitness Library

Library : Year 2 | Session 2: Myths of Aging

Myths Of Aging

Notes from the book “Successful Aging”
By John W. Rowe MD, Robert L. Kahn, PhD
Copyrighted in 1998

The topic of aging contains a confusing blend of truth and fancy. Our perceptions about the elderly fail to keep pace with the dramatic changes in elderly living and in scientific fact. In many ways, we have to let go of old myths and accept the new reality.

Myths:

To Be Old Is To Be Sick

We are seeing “a dramatic reduction in the prevalence of three precursers to chronic disease; high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels and smoking. We also, know that between 1982 and 1989, there were significant reductions in the prevalence of arthritis, arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), dementia, hypertension, stroke and emphysema, as well as a dramatic decrease in the average number of diseases an older person has.” What is important is a person’s ability to remain independent:

- Personal care

- Nonpersonal care

Between 1982 and 1994 the proportion of the population over age 65 that reported any disability fell from 24.9 to 21.3 percent. (1.4 million fewer older people that are disabled). “The message is that we can have a dramatic impact on our success or failure in aging”.

You Can’t Teach An Old Dog New Tricks
Research results are encouraging. Current estimates are

- That no more than 10% of people 65 to 100 are Alzheimer’s patients.

- 95% of older people live in the community at large, only 5% in nursing homes

New results of research and testing:

- Older men and women can and do learn new things

- Some aspects of learning are more limited in age. This may be due to other factors that are present in youth, such as sharper vision and better hearing; reaction time is quicker and short term memory seems to be better.

- What it takes to learn changes with age, and older people must learn to work at their own pace , practice new skills, avoid competitive situations that favor youthful quickness.

The Horse Is Out Of The Barn
Many older people believe that after decades of risky behavior – overindulgence in diet, exercise, alcohol, there is no point in changing. Now we know that not only can we recover much lost function and decrease risk, but in some cases we can actually increase function beyond prior level.

- Smoking – The risk of heart disease begins to fall almost as soon as you quit smoking . The risk of lung cancer begins to fall, but it takes at least 15 years for the risk of lung cancer to equal that of the nonsmoker.

- Overweight – If the habit changes, the body will repair itself and the risk of heart disease and certain cancers will diminish.

- Blood pressure – the results are not as clear cut. Systolic hypertension is the most difficult to manage and drug treatments are necessary to reduce the risk of stroke.

- Physical fitness – exercise dramatically increases physical fitness, muscle size and strength in older individuals.

The Secret to Successful Aging Is To Choose Your Parents Wisely
While the role of genetics in aging is important, it has been tremendously overstated. Regardless of our genes, we as individuals have living choices that can play an important role in how successfully we age, such as:

- Environment

- Lifestyle

Ways in which heredity does –and does not – play an important role:

- Avoiding disease and disability. Diet, exercise and even medications may delay or eliminate emergence of disease. Genes are less than 50% of the story.

- Maintaining high mental and physical function. With rare exceptions, only about 30% of physical aging can be blamed on genes. How we live and where has a greater impact.

- Active engagement with life. Certain personality traits may be inherited, but one’s degree of vitality and interpersonal connections late in life are certainly nongenetic.

The Lights May Be On, But The Voltage Is Low
The myth suggests that older people suffer from inadequate physical and mental abilities, and little interested in sex. There is far more fiction than fact.

- Sexuality – it does tend to decrease in old age, but there are tremendous individual differences. It is possible to maintain a very active sex life, when energy levels are high and medications do not interfere. The basic human need for affectionate physical contact, however persists throughout life.

The Elderly Don’t Pull Their Own Weight
The idea that older people are relatively unproductive in society is just plain wrong. Factors:
- The measures are wrong. It is important to recognize that we tend to omit unpaid productive work from our national accounting. Older men and women : one- third work for pay and one-third work as volunteers in churches, hospitals and other organizations.

- The playing field is not level. Older men and women are not given an equal chance for paid employment. Retirement age is set at 65. Social security not only helps protect against poverty, it also provides a system to make way for youth.

- They are ready, willing and able. Companies that have emphasized the recruitment and retention of older workers confirm that older employees meet or surpass expectations. They add insight and experience to the workforce.