A new study from the UK says older adults are showing significant health improvements compared to generations past.
Researchers from the Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center at the Mailman School of Public Health looked at trends in how well older adults in England function, assessing cognitive, locomotor, psychological, and sensory capacities. They found that, mentally and physically, the demographic today is substantially more capable than its predecessors at the same age.
Specifically, they concluded that a 68-year-old born in 1950 had a similar capacity to a 62-year-old born in 1940, while those born in 1940 possessed better functioning than those born in 1930 or 1920.
A similar, though more limited, analysis was conducted in the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), where similar trends were observed.
John Beard, MBBS, PhD, Irene Diamond Professor of Aging in Health Policy and Management in the Butler Columbia Aging Center of Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and author of the study, attributes the improvement to better education, nutrition, and sanitation, as well medical advances.
“We were surprised by just how large these improvements were, particularly when comparing people born after World War Two with earlier-born groups,” said Beard, per Neuroscience News.
“It is also likely that more advantaged groups will have experienced greater gains than others. But overall, the trends were very strong and suggest that, for many people, 70 really may be the new 60,” he said.
Last month, The Dallas Express reported on a study that says aging may not be a steady process. Instead, the researchers found that it entails two significant milestone jumps, found in our 40s and 60s.
Another study examining tens of thousands of Americans aged 40 and up found that physical activity was linked to a substantial lengthening of life for inactive individuals. In the most inactive group studied, the authors said that increasing daily physical activity to match the top group could extend their life by an additional 11 years.