Bill, seventy-seven, is a new model of older adult. He manages a vast network of athletic camps, flies to the World Series, and spends his spare time working with his church and the Gideons. He walks two miles a day and is very careful about his diet. Bill lives his life with zest and vigor and still contributes to society.
Bill is prototypical of the new elder culture predicted for the next cohort of older adults. According to Ken Dychtwald, a gerontological consultant, the next generation of older adults will be healthier, more mobile, better educated, and more politically astute than today's seniors. They will be part of a more powerful and energetic elder culture.
Like the old gray mare, aging is definitely not what it used to be. Time was when people believed they should eat, drink, and be merry--for tomorrow, they'd retire to their rockers. Invariably, it was held, the passing years meant steady mental and physical decline until one died from "old age." While many still cling to these myths, researchers marvel at the human potential to extend physical and intellectual capacities in later life.
Many factors have contributed to this greatly improved forecast for the aging. Medical advances of the last decade have made it possible for present and future generations to live longer lives. Demonstrably, healthier life-styles have played a major role in extending life span. The effects of disease, abuse, or disuse should never be called "normal aging." Put simply, people do not die of old age, but of specific conditions, over which they may have some control.
The sheer numbers of older adults are overwhelming. Although the maximum life span has not increased, the number of persons sixty-five and older has increased from 4 percent of the population in 1900 to 12 percent in 1985. Even more important, the fastest-growing segment of the population is the group eighty-five and older.
In 1900, only 25 percent of deaths occurred in the group over sixty-five. Advances in preventing childhood diseases had pushed the number to almost 70 percent by 1980. Impressive gains have been made in treating and preventing the four leading causes of death in the sixty-five plus population: heart disease, strokes, cancer, and pneumonia.
But this bounty of years has brought mixed blessings. As our aged population continues to grow, survivors may encounter nonfatal disorders, such as arthritis, diabetes, and dementia. Specified in the blue print for a model healthy old age are education and healthy life-style choices.
Heart disease and strokes: silent stalkers
A diagnosis of high blood pressure surprises most people, who find the knowledge that they are potential candidates for stroke or heart failure traumatic. About 75 percent of hypertensives are over forty, but their condition is seldom diagnosed until they are fifty or sixty. Associated with excess weight, and found more commonly in black people than white and men than women, hypertension has been called the silent stalker.
According to Dr. Harvey Simon of Harvard Medical School, hearts may wear down a
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