According to a study, at what age do we start considering ourselves old?

(Dennis Thompson – HealthDay News) – Thought of the people “old ageA new study finds that aging is in itself, and that middle-aged and older people believe that aging begins later in life than their peers decades ago.

The study revolves around this question: “At what age would you call someone old?”

Decades ago, people born in 1911 began old age at age 71 when asked this question at age 65, the researchers report in the April 22 issue of the journal. Psychology and aging.

But people born in 1956 said that old age begins at age 74 when they were asked at age 65, the researchers found.

It’s not clear why people nowadays are setting a later date for the onset of old age, said researcher Markus Wettstein, a psychologist at Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany.

,Life expectancy has increased, which may contribute to a later onset of old age” Wettstein noted in a university news release.

“In addition, some aspects of health have improved over time, so people of a certain age who were considered old in the past may not be considered old today,” Wettstein said.

In the study, researchers examined data from more than 14,000 participants in the German Aging Study, including people born there between 1911 and 1974.

Participants answered surveys eight times over 25 years, and one question specifically asked about at what age someone could be considered old.

The results showed that people born earlier tended to start aging earlier than those born later. However, researchers found that the trend of delayed onset of aging has slowed in recent years.

“The trend of postponing aging is not linear and will not necessarily continue into the future.”Wettstein noted.

The study also considered how perceptions of old age change as people age. Researchers found that as people age, they have a tendency to delay the onset of old age.

At age 64, the average participant said that old age begins at age 75. But he said that at the age of 74, old age starts closer to the age of 77. The results show that on average, the onset of old age increases by about one year for every four to five years of actual aging.

“It is not clear to what extent the tendency to postpone old age reflects a tendency to have more positive views about older people and aging, or vice versa: perhaps the onset of old age has been postponed because people believe That growing old is an undesirable state,” Wettstein said.

Gender and health status also appear to shape a person’s perception of old age. Women enter old age, on average, two years later than men, a gap that has widened over time. And people who feel lonely or are in poor health are more likely to say that aging begins earlier than those who had less loneliness and better health, the results show.

more information. Harvard Medical School offers more information about aging.

Source: American Psychological Association, press release, April 22, 2024

*Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporters ©The New York Times 2024