WHAT IS HAPPENING AS WE LIVE LONGER
Living longer is a very complex process but the scientific knowledge is now that the normal biological process of ageing is not the main cause of major problems till the late 90s, although you need a bit of luck to avoid the diseases such as Parkinson’s that we cannot prevent or delay. There is now much clearer understanding of the relationship between an individual’s genetic inheritance and their social and physical environment with the latter being much more important than the former so don’t worry about the age your parents or grandparents died or what they died of
There are three processes other than ageing that are much more important causes of the problems that occur more frequently as people live longer,
*Loss of fitness, both physical and mental
*Disease, much of which is preventable being caused not by genetics but by risks such as the modern diet and inactivity, and the disability that results from disease is usually complicated by accelerated loss of fitness
*Social factors which affect wellbeing, notably not having enough money for heating and housing and negative beliefs about what older people can do and pessimistic attitudes towards older people - ageism
So we now know that ‘ageing’, namely the normal biological process is not the main cause of the major problems that occur as we live longer and therefore that many of these problems can be delayed, prevented or reversed
Living longer is a very complex process but the scientific knowledge is now that the normal biological process of ageing is not the main cause of major problems till the late 90s, although you need a bit of luck to avoid the diseases such as Parkinson’s that we cannot prevent or delay. There is now much clearer understanding of the relationship between an individual’s genetic inheritance and their social and physical environment with the latter being much more important than the former so don’t worry about the age your parents or grandparents died or what they died of
There are three processes other than ageing that are much more important causes of the problems that occur more frequently as people live longer,
*Loss of fitness, both physical and mental
*Disease, much of which is preventable being caused not by genetics but by risks such as the modern diet and inactivity, and the disability that results from disease is usually complicated by accelerated loss of fitness
*Social factors which affect wellbeing, notably not having enough money for heating and housing and negative beliefs about what older people can do and pessimistic attitudes towards older people - ageism
So we now know that ‘ageing’, namely the normal biological process is not the main cause of the major problems that occur as we live longer and therefore that many of these problems can be delayed, prevented or reversed