Healthy Longevity and Aging Well

I remember the day when I bent over a glass table top at a restaurant and saw a Shar-Pei reflected back at me. It was all I could do to stop from screaming. I was in my early 50s and had just learned one of my first lessons about getting older and being a woman. After the age of 40, gravity is not your friend.

I’ve had many more insights and observations as the years marched on. They seem to accelerate with age. I know, of course, that I am not alone. Women, particularly in America where we are bombarded with youthful body images, largely dread getting older. Women who traded in the commodity of physical attractiveness to help them get what they wanted, face losing that natural bargaining chip. Even bright, able women with successful careers got further if they were also attractive. A number of studies show that beautiful people earn from 7% to 12% more than less attractive colleagues. Women, being more beauty-conscious than men, are acutely aware of the physical state and accustomed to comparing themselves to others in the mind’s own beauty-meter.

Entire industries have grown up around our fear of physical change and loss of the blush of youth. A study done by the YWCA in 2007 indicated that females in the U.S. spend more than $7 billion a year on beauty products and the American Society for Aesthetic surgery reported close to 11.7 million procedures in the same year.

Just as we adapt to observable changes in skin, hair and the picture of ourselves that we hold dear, other age-related concerns rise up and demand equal time. It’s no longer enough to learn to live with (and hopefully learn to love) the aging face in the mirror. Issues such as osteoporosis, arthritis, bladder control, sexual drive and other concepts that once seemed beyond the realm of possibility come wrapped as birthday presents that are hard to return. As women, we must juggle vanity and self image with physical health that directly impacts quality of life and longevity.

These issues are more critical today than ever before. With about 60 percent of women in America’s workforce, an increasing number plan to defer retirement – and many can’t imagine retiring at all. Popular culture is advancing the notion that today’s 60 is yesterday’s 40 – and, further, today’s 93 is yesteryear’s 73. With ambitions to live long and better, to remain actively engaged in life and contributing to society rather than leaning back in an easy chair, there’s increased attention to aging well.

Research into longevity is a science on the rise. It’s producing some interesting findings that can help us make decisions and chart our own course as the calendar turns. For example, a Poll done by the National Center on Women and Aging, 50% of women reported the experience of aging was considerably better than they thought it would be. The same poll found that women who continued to work in some manner had a more positive experience with aging and a better outlook on life.

And, interestingly, the researchers found that the perceptions of good mental health among women actually rose with age. For example, 76.3 percent of women between 50 and 59 reported experiencing good mental well being while 89.8 percent of their sisters over the age of 80 claimed to have good mental health.

Abundant resources are available to guide us through healthy and positive aging. Information, however, seldom comes knocking on our doors. It’s incumbent on each of us to search out opportunities to get the facts about nutrition, exercise, attitude and social networks that support healthy aging. Where to look? Obviously, the Internet will produce millions of hits. The caveat when doing Web research is to always know the source of the information. Clearly, domains that are designed to sell products have a vested interest in a point of view that supports their marketing. Look at medical universities, nonprofit Web sites, and information posted on government Web sites.

Seek out community forums and workshops, attend adult school classes or take an online class. Participation in group activities opens up new networks in which it’s possible to discover even more resources.

Taking personal responsibility for our journey into greater maturity creates new opportunities to exert greater control over our lives. We don’t have to become frail or depressed. We don’t need to feel unattractive or too old to enjoy activities. Research already shows that the stereotype of aging doesn’t stand up to reality. But, ultimately, it’s up to each of us to make the decision to join the new era of women consciously aging well.

By Darby Patterson