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Today’s 70-year-olds are like the 50-year-olds of the 1970s. How come?

Current research shows that today’s 70-year-olds are in many respects like the 50-year-olds of the 1970s, but how come? Susanne Iwarsson, professor of gerontology – the study of healthy ageing – answers:

“As always, when it comes to ageing, it is a very complex picture of interacting factors which lead to changes in the ageing process. One important factor is medical progress – there are many diseases for which we have increasingly effective treatments, such as cancer. Another example is that early treatment in cases of stroke leads to markedly improved survival rates and less serious functional disability.

Knowledge about how to combat cardiovascular disease and the importance of an active life – physically, mentally and socially – is widespread and nowadays more people are health-conscious. Furthermore, we have a well-developed welfare system which gives everyone access to education, healthcare and social services, as well as good standards of housing. However, inequalities in health are significant, with some population groups having significantly worse health than others. There are also significant geographical differences with regard to health.”

In the blue zones, more people live to a very old age

The areas known as blue zones, where people live to an exceptional age, sound almost magical. In a blue zone, more people than average live to be 100 or more than in other areas. Examples of such zones are the island of Okinawa in Japan, and certain parts of southern Europe and Turkey. In Greece, there are blue zones in the mountainous regions where the shepherds reach advanced old age. But Sweden also has its blue zones, explains Susanne Iwarsson.

“Sweden’s blue zone goes through Småland down to northeastern Skåne, where Hässleholm is the southernmost municipality in the area. Vittsjö is the parish in Sweden which has most people aged 100 or older (per thousand inhabitants). Sweden’s blue zone exactly matches the area from which people emigrated to America. The characteristic of blue zones is that people often lived a physically hard and Spartan life, with little food and a lot of work. Lifestyle rules of a religious nature have also affected people’s lives.”

We who are getting older instead of “the elderly”

Current knowledge can roughly be summarised as “activity helps in most cases”. The published research shows that physical, mental and social activity has positive effects on health and ageing throughout. And to create an ageing-friendly society, Susanne Iwarsson thinks it must be adapted to support a positive development. We need a life-cycle perspective in planning to support active and healthy ageing, i.e. before people become old. There is a great need for health-promoting and preventive initiatives, within many different areas. At the same time, it is important to increase knowledge about ageing at the individual level as well – there is a lot that each of us can do to affect our own situation. Attitudes to age also need to be worked on and changed so that older people are not excluded from the community.

“Age is the only form of discrimination that does not ‘affect someone else’ but concerns us all! Therefore, it would probably make a difference if the discussion on how to create an ageing-friendly society was based on the perspective of ‘we who are getting older’ rather than ‘the elderly’”, says Susanne Iwarsson.

The professor’s four tips for active and healthy ageing

•Live a life that is as healthy as possible – what you do today and how you live is significant for how you age.

•Create a daily lifestyle in which you are active – physically, mentally and socially – it doesn’t matter much what you do so long as the activity feels meaningful and stimulating.

•Think long-term, even when you have reached an advanced age: dare to imagine that you will gradually be affected by functional disability and some limitations in your daily life – how and where do you want to live in 5, 10, 15 and 20 years?

•Take control of your future so that you have influence over your own situation.