Gaby
You may have heard that “60 is the new 50.” Lately, though, people are increasingly saying that 70 is the new 60.
A new study from Humboldt University in Berlin finds that people today, compared with earlier generations, think old age starts later. Most older adults say it begins at 74 or older, and that view is becoming more common each year. That suggests people who used to be considered old aren’t seen that way anymore.
How the Study Was Conducted
The research team analyzed survey data from 14,056 participants in a 25-year study on aging. Initially, the study included residents of Germany aged 40 to 100, born between 1911 and 1974. Over the course of the study, additional participants joined as they reached middle and older age.
Among the many questions posed to volunteers was this one: “At what age can a person be considered old?”
Researchers found that people born later placed the start of old age at a higher age than those born earlier.
For example, when participants born in 1911 were 65, they said old age begins at 71. But when participants born in 1956 were 65, they said it begins at 74.
“Life expectancy has increased, which may contribute to the later onset of old age. Some aspects of health have also improved over time, so people of a certain age who were once considered old are not viewed that way today,” said study author Markus Wettstein.
The researchers also found that perceptions of old age shift as people get older. The average 64-year-old participant said old age begins at 74.7 years. When those participants reached 74, they said it begins at 76.8 years.
The team also looked at how individual factors such as gender and health status shape those perceptions. They found that women tend to say old age begins about two years later than men do. Over time, the gap between men’s and women’s perceptions of old age widens, as reported by the Daily Mail.
Volunteers who felt lonelier and reported worse health also felt older and said old age begins earlier; those who were less lonely, healthier, and felt younger pushed that age later.
The results of the study were published in the journal Psychology and Aging.
