What is Healthy Aging?
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It's a fact: People in the United States are living longer. The current growth of the population ages 65 and older, driven by the large baby boom generation, (between ages 55 and 73 in 2019) is unprecedented in U.S. history. The number of Americans ages 65 and older is projected to nearly double from 52 million in 2018 to 95 million by 2060, and the 65-and-older age group’s share of the total population will rise from 16 percent to 23 percent (prb.org).
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Often aging comes with a negative stigma that compels people to define themselves with diminished capacity, and attitudes about aging affect the pysche of older adults as well as their physical and mental health. Older people are aprehensive about being a burden while buying into the stereotype that they are less valuable, putting them at risk of depression and social isolation. In reality, later age can be very rewarding. Aging Together's vision sustains the concept that with becoming older, people can remain active and engaged, and provide value to communities. At the same time they can live enjoyable and meaningful lives with more time to spend on family and activites that bring fulfillment.
So what is healthy aging? The World Health Organization defines healthy aging as "creating the environments and opportunities that enable people to be and do what they value throughout their lives. Everybody can experience Healthy Ageing. Being free of disease or infirmity is not a requirement for Healthy Ageing as many older adults have one or more health conditions that, when well controlled, have little influence on their wellbeing." (Click HERE to view the WHO's complete definition.) The goal of this website is to encourage our region's older citizens, along with family and community, to honor aging with the same enthusiasm and spirit as any other time of life and to view older age as positive and enlightened. And at the same time it offers resources that encourage, support, and alleviate challenges that become barriers to enjoying this great time of life.
So what is healthy aging? The World Health Organization defines healthy aging as "creating the environments and opportunities that enable people to be and do what they value throughout their lives. Everybody can experience Healthy Ageing. Being free of disease or infirmity is not a requirement for Healthy Ageing as many older adults have one or more health conditions that, when well controlled, have little influence on their wellbeing." (Click HERE to view the WHO's complete definition.) The goal of this website is to encourage our region's older citizens, along with family and community, to honor aging with the same enthusiasm and spirit as any other time of life and to view older age as positive and enlightened. And at the same time it offers resources that encourage, support, and alleviate challenges that become barriers to enjoying this great time of life.
Ageism
Agesim is the prejudice or discrimination on the grounds of a person's age (Oxford Langauge Dictionary). In order to support and honor aging, it's imperative we reverse and remove stereotypes that wrongly diminish aging people.
