The Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University

National Program on Women & Aging
 
 
Women & Aging Letter Excerpt
Spring 2003
Volume 7  Number 1
Well Beyond 65

In a culture that is frantic about staying young, aging is a metaphor for decline and dependence. Just visit the birthday section next time you pass a rack of greeting cards. If the messages and jokes on the cards for 40, 50, and 65 year olds are any indication, aging is something to avoid at all costs and old age to be dreaded. At the same time, if the availability of cards for milestone birthdays beyond age 80 is a sign, great old age is no longer an anomaly. In fact, more than 70,000 Americans are 100 years of age or older; of these, eighty-five percent are women. Without a doubt, more Americans than ever before are getting old, and women are leading the demographic tidal wave. 

Simple observation tells us that many of those who reach advanced old age do so in good mental and physical health. Scientific study of the oldest among us — the growing group of centenarians (those 100 and older) —  is revealing what a recent article in the Journal of the American Medical Association* calls the “biological secrets of exceptional old age.”  At NCWA, we think it is time to divulge and discuss these secrets as more of us reach (or at least near) the triple digits!

*Vol 288, No. 18, November 13, 2002
 

Below is an excerpt from this issue of the newsletter.  Also included in the issue:

Common Characteristics of Centenarians
Test Your Aging Attitute
Getting "Well Beyond 65"
Missing Out on Benefits?
Join a Genetics of Longevity Study
 
 
Besides Genetics
 
What are the factors that contribute to advanced longevity? Are they the same factors that determine an aging process relatively free of disease and disability? Which of these factors can we control and which do we inherit and must simply manage? While much of the research on longevity, particularly extreme longevity, has focused on biology and genetics, other factors are believed to play critical roles. Recent research posits that as much as 75 percent of longevity may be due to non-genetic attributes, including psychological and behavioral factors. (Levy and Slade et al, 2002.) 

Findings of the landmark MacArthur Foundation Study of Aging in America suggested that “successful aging” includes three main components: low probability of disease and disease-related disability, high cognitive and physical functional capacity, and active engagement in life.  There are many lifestyle choices that individuals can make to increase their well being in the present and to preserve and enhance mental and physical vitality as they age. For a fuller discussion of these, you may read Successful Aging (1998) by John W. Rowe, M.D. and Robert L. Kahn, Ph.D. In brief, here are some of the routes the authors suggest to increased well-being:
 

  • Avoiding disease and disability:  key strategies include exercise, prevention and early detection of cancer, heart disease and stroke.
  • Maintaining mental and physical health: key strategies include aerobic exercise and strength training, good nutrition and hydration, memory training and practice, paid and unpaid work. 
  • Continuing engagement with life: key elements include nurturing friendships, frequent visits with family and friends, attending meetings of organizations, reciprocity and giving emotional and other support, paid and unpaid work.
Staying active, in the broadest sense, is vital. Unfortunately, women over the age of 65 are the least physically active group of Americans. According to Vital and Health Statistics (2002), 88 percent of women in this group do no vigorous physical activity at all. Less than four percent do at least 10 minutes of vigorous physical activity three to four times a week.   Clinical guidelines, on the other hand (see www.guidelines.gov), encourage moderate levels of physical activity for 30 to 45 minutes, 3 to 5 days per week. All adults should set a long-term goal to accumulate at least 30 minutes or more of moderate to intense physical activity on most, and preferably all, days of the week.

According to the Task Force on Community Preventive Services:* 

  • Regular physical activity or improved cardiovascular fitness reduces the risk of all-cause mortality and increases years of healthy life. 
  • Physical activity or improved cardiovascular fitness reduces risk for morbidity resulting from cardiovascular and other chronic diseases. 
  • Physical activity does not need to be vigorous and sustained to achieve health benefits. Improved health can be attained through the accumulation of shorter bouts of moderate-intensity activity; however, greater levels of activity do produce greater health benefits. 
*Source: MMWR Recomm Rep. 2001 Oct 26;50(RR-18):1-14. Available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) web site: www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5018a1.htm#tab1
 
“I do not agree with the doomsayers who express grave concerns about the consequences of population aging. After all, in the 20th century, we have already provided many social protections and medical advances that have reduced disability and advanced the quality of life for older persons.”

Robert N. Butler, M.D., Founder and President International Longevity Center -USA
(Madrid, Spain, April 2002)

 
 

This is an excerpt only

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