Our World is Aging

What is aging? Is it about the number that’s written on your ID? Is it the number of candles on your cake? Is it the number of lines on your face? Is it the number of beats your heart has beaten all these years?

When we talk about age, we should think of the physical as well as the mental and emotional aspect. Although in many cases, the different aspects of age are more or less synchronized, though there is not always the case. Some people may look young on the outside but feel old and weary deep inside. There are also those who feel “young at heart” even in their 80s.

Aging is a natural process and there is no way we can fully stop it, unless we have the mythical elixir of life. However, recent medical advances may be able to delay aging. There are many ways to Battle Aging. Cosmetic surgery such as facelifting and botox can remove the lines from a face and thus temporarily stop physical aging. Some people, however, choose to “age gracefully” by accepting the wrinkles but keeping the body young and fit by leading a healthy lifestyle. And then there are those whose body may be old and broken by disease but whose heart and spirit are still young and whole.

In Battling Aging, we will tackle all the different aspects of aging.

What is aging? Is it about the number that’s written on your ID? Is it the number of candles on your cake? Ist it the number of lines on your face? Is it the number of beats your heart has beaten all these years?

To start off, I’d like to bring you some figures about the age of the world population expressed in years. Here are some statistics from a recent report entitled “An Aging World: 2008” International Programs Center in the Population Division of the Census Bureau and commissioned by the US National Institute on Aging:

In 2008, there were 506 million people worldwide aged 65 and older.
In 2040, the 65 and above generation will reach 1.3 billion.
In just over 30 years, the proportion of older people will double from 7 to 14%
In 10 years, there will be more people aged 65 and older than children under 5 in the world.

Here are some highlights from the report:

While developed nations have relatively high proportions of people aged 65 and older, the most rapid increases in the older population are in the developing world. The current rate of growth of the older population in developing countries is more than double that in developed countries, and is also double that of the total world population.

As of 2008, 62 percent (313 million) of the world’s people aged 65 and older lived in developing countries. By 2040, today’s developing countries are likely to be home to more than 1 billion people aged 65 and over, 76 percent of the projected world total.

The oldest old, people aged 80 and older, are the fastest growing portion of the total population in many countries. Globally, the oldest old population is projected to increase 233 percent between 2008 and 2040, compared with 160 percent for the population aged 65 and over and 33 percent for the total population of all ages.

The 65-and-older population in China and India alone numbered 166 million in 2008, nearly one-third of the world’s total. Issues related to population aging in the world’s two most populous nations will be accentuated in the coming decades as the absolute number climbs to 551 million in 2040 (329 million in China and 222 million in India).

Childlessness among European and U.S. women aged 65 in 2005 ranged from less than 8 percent in the Czech Republic to 15 percent in Austria and Italy. Twenty percent of women aged 40–44 in the United States in 2006 had no biologic children. These data raise questions about the provision of care when this cohort reaches advanced ages.

Older people provide support to as well as receive support from their children. In countries with well-established pension and social security programs, many older adults provide shelter and financial assistance to their adult children and grandchildren. Older people in developing countries, although less likely to provide financial help to children, make substantial contributions to family well-being through such activities as household maintenance and grandchild care.

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