Aging successfully

AGING SUCCESSULLY
( IF UNDERSTAND BETTER, PROOVE TO BE A NICE DURATION OF THE LIFE)



Chandrakant Jamadar ** ,



Assistant Professor, Dept of Home Science , Govt Home Science College, Hassan,*1
Assistant Professor, Dept of Psychology,Maharani’s Arts & Commerce womenn’s college Mysore*2
Assistant Professor, Dept of Psychology, Govt Home Science College, Hassan, *3



e-mail ID - Vijaya.ptl@gmail.com


AGING SUCCESSULLY
( IF UNDERSTAND BETTER, PROOVE TO BE A NICE DURATION OF THE LIFE)
People are never static, they keep on changing. In the early part of life the changes lead to maturity in structure & function, by contrast in later part of life the changes are towards diminishing. These changes are the natural accompaniment of what is commonly known as “Aging”.Which affect physical as well as mental structures & functionings.
The global population is aging. During 2000, the world’s elderly population grew by more than 795,000 each month (Kinsella & Velkoff,2001), and it is expected to more than double by 2025. By then, there will be more than 800 million people over 65, 2/3rd of them in developing countries ( U.S. Bureau of the Census).
People today are living longer, especially in developed countries, due to economic growth, better nutrition, healthier lifestyles, improved control of infectious disease, and better access to safe water, sanitation facilities, and medical care ( Kinsella & Velkoff,2001).
Today , social scientists who specialize in the study of aging refer to 3 groups of older adults : the “ young old,” “old old,” and “oldest old.” Chronologically, young old generally refers to people ages 65 to 74, who are usually active, vital & vigorous. The old old, ages 75 to 84, and oldest old, ages 85 and above, are more likely to be frail and infirm and have difficulty in managing activities of daily living.
The economic impact of a graying population depends on the proportion of that population which is healthy and able-bodied. In this regard the trend is changing, Primary aging is a gradual, inevitable process of bodily deterioration that begins early in life and continues through the years, irrespective of what people do to stave it off. Secondary aging consists of results of disease, abuse, and disuse—factors that are often avoidable and within people’s control.
How long one will live? Why do one have to grow old? Do everyone wants to live forever? These are the questions for which human being is trying to find answer from many years. How long one will live involves many related concepts like Life expectancy , Longevity, Life span ..etc. Life expectancy is the age to which a person born at a certain time and place is statistically likely to live, given her or his current age and health status. Longevity is how long a person actually does live. Or length of an individual’s life. Life span is the longest period that members of one species can live. Behind this yearing is a fear, not so much of chronological age as of biological aging: loss of health and physical powers. Even concern is not just with length but with quality of life.


While discussing successful aging, its important to understand the 3 major theories,
Disengagement theory – which suggests that successful aging is characterized by an individual’s gradual withdrawal from the world, physically, psychologically, and socially . The withdrawal is a mutual endeavor and is not necessarily negative.
Activity theory – which suggests that successful aging occurs when people maintain their engagement with the world. This theory grew from inconsistent results in studies examining aging. The results of different studies suggest that one method does not work for everyone.
Continuity theory - suggests that people should maintain a level of involvement in society that maximizes their sense of well-being and self esteem. People have attributes and factors that fit in each of the theories , which helps to accentuate their point that one’s activity level and engagement with society and the world and the link to successful aging is quite personal and varies, and based on an individual’s needs.
Thus we can say that successful aging depends upon
Good physical and mental health
Financial security
A sense of autonomy and independence
A positive outlook
Ability to reduce demands of life
Highlighting one’s own skills
Making up mind for slowing down.

A new way to look at life expectancy is in terms of the number of years a person can expect to live in good health, free of disabilities. Gains in the life expectancy since the 1970’s have come mainly from reductions in diseases that mainly affect older people, such as heart disease, cancer , and stroke. Among 191 countries, Japan has the longest healthy life expectancy at birth ,74.5 years. The U.S. ranks 24th , with a healthy life expectancy of 70 – 72.6 years. Nearly all over the world, women typically live longer than men, though there are expectations in developing countries where girls/ women face severe discriminations. Women’s longer life has been attributed to several factors, their greater tendency to take care of themselves & to seek medical care, the higher level of mental support from other women and greater biological vulnerability of males throughout life.
Lengthening healthy life expectancy depends upon the knowledge of what happens to the human body with passing years. Many efforts have been made to understand this. We can see this efforts in Genetic programming theories and Variable-rate theories which can be called as Biological aging theories. Genetic programming theories assumes biological aging as a result of genetically determined developmental timetable. In these theories Programmed senescence theory believes that the aging is the result of the sequential switching on and off of certain genes , Endocrine theory assumes that aging is in the control of hormones , where as Immunological theory believes that a programmed decline in immune system functions leads to increased vulnerability to infectious disease and thus to aging & death. On the other hand Variable-rate theories view aging as a result of processes that vary from person to person & influenced by both internal and external factors. Among these theories Wear & tear theory believes that the aging is the result of the accumulated damage to the system beyond the body’s ability to repair it. As cells grow older , they are believed to be less able to repair or replace damaged components. Free radical theory focuses on harmful effects of free radicals , highly unstable oxygen atoms or molecules, formed during metabolism, which react with & can damage cell membranes, cell protein, fats, carbohydrates & even DNA. Damage from free radicals accumulates with age, it has been associated with arthritis, muscular dystrophy, cataracts, cancer, late onset diabetes, and neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease.( Stadtman, 1992; Wallace , 1992 ) . Rate of living theory suggests that body can do just so much work, & that’s the faster it works, the faster it wears out. Thus speed of metabolism determines length of life. Where as Autoimmune theory suggests that an aging immune system can become confused & release antibodies that attack the body’s own cells. This malfunction , called autoimmunity, is thought to be responsible for some aging related diseases.
After studying all these theories one can understand that each of these theoretical perspectives offers part of truth. Controllable environmental and life style factors may interact with genetic factors to determine how long a person lives & in what condition. Condition usually refers to the environment, their interests, social contact , vocational adjustment, family adjustment ….etc.
Thus successful aging, that is a happy evening is result of the quality of behavior patterns, continued activity like a minimum of pervious work or social work, happy memories of previous years and most of all a favorable attitude towards old age.