Elderly applies to the stage of life well past middle age. When used as a noun in referring to older persons in general, it is relatively neutral, denoting a group of people whose common characteristic is advanced age. Who is an old man or old women? How old is this person?
Hello Nader,
Old is generall 65 + years. However when you feel you need a face lift you are old.
In Brazil for example an older adult is 60 + but in developed countries is 65+.
The point is here! Why this age in developed countries is determined more than developing countries?
It probably has to do with the average life span. If you live on average 45 years or 77 years the closeness to calculated death obviously matters.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_expectancy
Nader,
If I understand your question correctly, I think that the reason that the question of age is determined more in developed than in developing countries would have to do with their rather more sophisticated welfare systems, and payment of pensions to retirees.
b
Bw
Chris Ide
Christopher ,
My question is about their physiological age.
Why we consider a more amount in developed countries than developing countries?
For information related to developed countries you may want to look at the age categories described by Waneen Spirduso, Physical Dimensions of Aging: https://books.google.com/books?id=gowNCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT191&lpg=PT191&dq=spirduso+age+categories&source=bl&ots=anIROhrLjq&sig=f8sEv6P_c873O8BQR0k1RKLIYtQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAGoVChMIv-uV3P6jyAIVQdWACh2ebA-F#v=onepage&q=spirduso%20age%20categories&f=false
These categories are commonly used – please see this example: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhsr/nhsr016.pdf
Hope this helps.
A person is as old as his mind. It is up to the person. If you think you are old, then you are, - otherwise you are not.
As Roland mentioned above, mine is also an exactly similar case. My mother-in-law is also far more agile at 80 compared to her daughter.
Elderly is a term used to describe someone well beyond middle age. Middle age describes someone beyond young adulthood but before the onset of old age. Young adulthood describes someone who has metamorphosed from teenaged. None of these definitions has a strict chronological age definition outside a bureaucratic form. Some teenagers do not metamorphose before age thirty and then enter middle age at 33.
Elderly has a range of connotations and can denote dignity and respect or frailty and diminished capacity. Some people have neither dignity nor diminished capacity even after reaching an age of 70+ years. Such people metamorphose from middle aged to old aged.
Dear Roland,
Your mother in law is perhaps a widow and does not endure the burden of struggling with a husband:)
In India the Government classifies those over 60 years of age as Senior Citizens and extend some concessions. This is also the normal retirement age. It seems to be a good milestone for our country.
Dear all,
Do you agree with the World Health Organization (WHO) that sets 50 as the beginning of old age?
Some persons believe that the age is a concept and and old man/ woman can be young and a young man/ woman can be old, because of genetic or environmental factors!
Usually you refer to someone as "old" when this person has problem walking, understanding, eating, etc Otherwise you would not refer to someone as "old".
But when one reaches near the end of life and has many problems, then you know he or she is old and you don't need to say this "old person".
Some people age prematurely, even before 50. Others like my mother at 104 cannot walk or eat properly in the last year or so, but can converse with excellent memory. So, she may be old in age, but some functions are still good.
Dear Michael,
We should determine the more important factors of oldness!
For example good memory may be more important that walking.
Old is someone above the age of 60 with less strength for physical activities
Hi, Dickson Adom, your question challenges me to react. Exactly I can state: I am an old man. No matter, wether other people say: Oh he is really an old man, unfortunately. Or if somebody says: Oh, what an old man, he must be happy, other people are dead already.
In my farewell speech at the celebration of my resignation in the year 2004 I asked the audience: When it is justified to say: This man or women is old? There is a very simpel test you can perform: If you are able to put on your socks free standing, after getting up in the morning from your bed, then still you are not old. If you need for this procedure leaning against the wall or - awfully to say - a sitting position; then, dear Dickson, you are rather old.
I hope that I get a confirmation from RG-users which read my comment, and had tested the socks-test. This test fullfils all criteria of a good diagnostic procedure. It is very objective, highly reliabe, and it is in the whole a very valid test, obviosly. But I don't sell it. You have the allowance to test free from fee.
Welcome, dear Anastas Ivanov Ivanov! And thanks for a very good answer. To be elder gives much occassion for smiling. Nevertheless many people hesitate to confirm for themselves: "I am old!" I don't. Every new day is a present - and a secret. Life has become more conscious, much more valuable.
this link is useful
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_age
regards
It depends on mind setup. If you feel young, then you are young and if you feel old, then you are old.
Hello Nader,
In our country, the retire-age of the Government Staff is 60 years.
There are annually worships to Old Persons for above 70 years.
In the Engineering Society and Writers Association, the annual worships are for 75 years old persons.
Best regards
In India a person on attaining the age of 60 years is get retired from the government service and he is declared as old.
But as per my own opinion a person is not get old till he/she can do his own work!
The last answers to the questions are very thoughtful. There is some reason and truth with them, if, dear colleagues, you assume: We are old, wenn we don't ... (or similar), but there is also some more posiitve impression with me. I am starting the 9th decade now, but I dream excellent, I learn something always (I hope), I am hopeful, still, for others, also for children and grand-chidlren. That we increasingly lose by death other high appreciated persons of our own generation in the circles of relatives, friends, colleagues, that's painful, yes, but also somewhat logical, when you yourself could by happy to get older - and other don't succeed in having this luck. This is also undeserved, I think, to be still fairly healthy, although all achievements ofcognivtie abilities, sensory achievments, mobility, are decreasing.
But very hopeful is: In some years or soon I am "salvated", that means, then I will not get into the situation of annoying myself over and over again about the same things, especially my own shortcomings, my tolerate social environment has to suffer until now.
I'm been having some thoughts. I'm not as old as Hein, but I've just come back from my Medical Year Club's reunion. We all graduated 44 years ago, and have had a number of reunions since graduating. I've always enjoyed them, but this time, I was a bit taken aback by the proliferation of hearing aids, walking sticks, zimmer frames, mobility scooters and discussions of raised PSA levels at breakfast!
However, it occurred to me that these aids enabled their owners to attend the event, to participate much more and derive pleasure from the event, and when the after dinner discotheque got under way, playing music mainly from 1968-74, , we took to the dance floor, and for a couple of hours, the years and decades slipped away as we became again young men and women in our late teens and early 20's with the world at our feet.
Roll on the next one!
Bw
Chris
Well I think that age does not determine the age, because while you have lucides, strength in your arms, legs, body in general, there is youth, youth is characterized by the rapidity in their movements, in lucidity, in the rapid communication one with the other, and the quick answers sometimes because this shows that the memory still works well. There are very old people who take their life always doing exercises, and a healthy diet, so this helps them have a healthy life, and will always look young, Young to decide who wants to be.
Based on who you ask, the meaning of "old person" might vary depending on personal preference and the age of the individual being questioned.
The World Economic Forum (WEF) has defined old age using a new measure called "prospective age," which considers how many years individuals have left to live.
So, according to the World Economic Forum, being old begins when humans have an average of 15 more years left to live.
Old is more of a subjective word than elderly but I will assume you are talking about the same thing. So the answer would be 65 and up.
- Badges
- Science topic
- Similar topics
- Biological Science
- Physiology
- Physiological Processes
- Stress