Geriatricians confirm that today we really become elderly only after 75 years of age
Modern comforts, scientific discoveries, and more in general, the quality of modern life has inevitably raised life expectancy in more developed countries.
A person who is 60 years old today is not comparable in regards to mental and cognitive strength to a person of the same age about 20 or 30 years ago. This means only one thing --- that we are aging more slowly.
For this reason, geriatricians have conceptually redefined the age at which a person can be considered old or elderly and this is a genuine age revolution.
via ansa.it
It is now official, only after 75 years of age can a person be considered old or elderly. This news which is a genuine age revolution has come directly from the National Congress of the Italian Society of Gerontology and Geriatrics (SIGG) that takes place in Rome.
According to experts, in fact, a person who is 65 years old today, has the same physical and mental strength of a healthy person aged 40-45 about 30 years ago! Today, a person who is 75 years old has the same faculties as a 55-year-old from 1980, says Prof. Niccolò Marchionni of the University of Florence and director of the cardiovascular department of the Careggi Hospital.
The average age in the most developed countries has risen about 20 years compared to the early 1900s, and most people between 60 and 75 years of age are in good health. Life expectancy has therefore been adjusted taking into account modern living standards which have caused a delay in the appearance of diseases.
For this reason, it was proposed by the geriatricians during the meeting, to modify the concept of being old or elderly to our modern times by taking into account the current demographic conditions and the fact that a person is actually elderly when he or she reaches a life expectancy of about 10 years.
According to the latest statistical data, the average age of longevity is around 85 years for women and slightly less, 82-83 years for men. After all, nowadays, considering the current physical condition of a 65-year-old man or woman, who would ever dream of calling him or her "old"?
