Our perception of the onset of old age has changed…
60 years ? 70 years ? 80 years old ? The age from which we estimate the onset of old age is subjective and influenced by several factors. Starting with our own lifestyle habits and our state of health. We inevitably feel less old when we are fit and have a fulfilling life. But the evolution of society also impacts our vision of old age and we would tend to think today that it begins later than before, according to a study published by the American Psychological Association. “Life expectancy has increased which could contribute to a later perception of old age. Some aspects of health have improved over time, such that people of a certain age who were considered old in the past can no longer be said today.” said study author Markus Wettstein, of Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany. With colleagues from other German universities and Luxembourg, he examined the responses of 14,056 Germans born between 1911 and 1974 to the question: “At what age would you describe someone as old?” These people were interviewed several times between the ages of 40 and 100. Additional participants aged 40 to 85 were recruited throughout the study period, as later generations entered their 40s and old age.
The older we get, the less old we see ourselves
The researchers found that compared to participants born earlier, participants born later had a later perception of old age. For example, when participants born in 1911 were 65 years old, they set the start of old age at 71 years old while those born in 1956 who were also 65 years old declared the start of old age at 74 years old. The researchers also observed a change in perceptions of old age as participants got older. Thus, the older they got, the more distant the onset of old age became for them.
► At 64 years old, the average participant estimated the age of old age at around 74 years old
► At 74 years old, he saw her from 77 years old.
On average, the perceived onset of old age increases by about one year for every four to five years of actual aging, according to researchers. Finally, women and men do not have the same perception of old age. For them, old age begins two years later than men and this difference widens with the years.