Aging And The World Health Organization

Research has shown that the Australian population is fast becoming an aging society. A huge proportion of older people accounting for this aging society were born overseas. According to Australian Bureau of Statistics in 2011, 36% of

It is not easy to come up with a working definition of aging; different academics around the world defined ‘aging’ from different perspectives. Based on the collected information I have, I define aging –a multidimensional process of physiological, mental and social changes that occurred over the course of life. Though it is beyond human control, aging experiences may vary between individuals. “In the developed world, chronological time plays a paramount role. The age of 60 or 65, roughly equivalent to retirement ages in most developed countries is said to be the beginning of old age. In many parts of the developing world, chronological time has little or no importance in the meaning of old age. Other socially constructed meanings of age are more significant such as the roles assigned to older people; in some cases it is the loss of roles accompanying physical decline which is significant in defining old age. Thus, in contrast to the chronological milestones which mark life stages in the developed world, old age in many developing countries is seen to begin at the point when active contribution is no longer possible." (Gorman, 2000)

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2008) by 2036 people aged sixty-five and older (frail aged) will make up 21.9% of the total New South Wales population. In 2007, there were 2.4 million people aged 65-84 years. According to the Series B projection, the number of people this age will grow by an average 2.7% per year to 2011, then accelerate to grow by an average 3.5% per year over

The term “aging” refers to a complex process of biological, physical, psychological and social changes in a person as he/ she ages over their lifetime. Typically, the term refers to older adults and takes on the meaning of the process of “getting old” and “being old”. It relates not only to how individuals live, act and perceive themselves, but also to society’s culture and perceptions, society’s policies and support systems designed for their needs - be it health care, social,

Aging is a universal phenomenon and humans are no exception. Gerontology deals with the psychological, social and biological aspects of aging process. A recent study shows that people aged 85 years and older are expected to augment from 5.3 million people to 21 million as the world reach 2050. In today’s world Gerontology has an enormous role to play so that the senior citizens could be analyzed and their needs may be addressed with compassion and empathy.

With increasing quality of healthcare, many countries around the world are now experiencing an ageing population. This involves a change in the demographic composition of the elderly and the young in a population. This means that there is a decrease in fertility rates with an increase in the number of elderly people (over 65). Therefore, the average age of the population is increasing. According to WHO, “this population ageing can be seen as a success story for public health policies, but it also challenges society to adapt, in order to maximize the health and functional capacity of older people as well as their social participation and security.”

The world population is growing at a rapid pace and the global population is estimated to be around 9 billion in 2050. With the accelerated growth of the global population comes similar growth amongst aging societies. Aging societies is defined as the increased longevity of life amongst a population of people within a developed or developing country and considered to be those age sixty and older. In 1950, the percentage of the global population that was over age 60 was 8%, but it’s projected to reach 21.1% by 2050.

Anthropologists that are most fit to study the process of aging and senescence are those that have biocultural and evolutionary prospectives. The author found that there is more of a focus on growth and development of individuals and not as much on aging of individuals, this is why he has tried to put his focus more on the aging of humans. The life expectancy of hominid evolution has increased greatly and at least doubled from 53 years for most Australopithicines to 122 years in modern day humans. It is believed to have increased 500% and this increase happened recently just within the last two centuries. The United States and many other developed countries life expectancy has increased dramatically from about 46 years in 1900 to 77 in 1997. Not all countries have such high number in life expectancy some have lower numbers such as 35 in Botswana and others have higher like 83 year old in Andorra. The authors does question if life expectancy will continue to keep growing throughout the years and there is no clear answer to it there is more of a debate to whether or not it may or may not keep

Prevalence of elderly worldwide is rapidly accelerating from 461 million people aged over 65 years in 2004 to an estimated 2 billion people by 2050 (1).

As individuals age changes occur physiologically that are part of normal aging. These changes occur in all organ systems and can impact an individual’s quality of life. The changes related to aging can be attributed to an individual’s genetic make up, lifestyle, physical activity, and dietary lifestyle. Being able to differentiate between normal changes in aging against disease process is important because it can help clinicians develop a plan of care (Boltz, Capezuti, Fulmer, & Zwicker, 2012). Creating an accurate plan of care for older adults will greatly impact their quality of life.

Throughout the world, a demographic revolution is underway. The proportion of older people is growing faster than any other group. A growth spurt in the number of elderly persons has resulted from improvements in both social living conditions and medical care. Approximately 600 million people are aged 60 years and over, and this number will double by 2025. This poses tremendous challenges to health and social policy planners, particularly because disease patterns will shift concurrently.1

We commission to evaluate the dynamics of the senior citizens of UK aged between 60 to 100 years and above, in regard to their health.

In reading chapter 9 we live in an aging society. Not only is 1 in every 8 Americans older than 65 years, but a person aged 65 can expect to live an average of 18 more years . People aged 85 years and over are the fastest-growing group, and the proportion of these “oldest old” is expected to triple between now and year 2030. Continued good health of the elderly population is a major challenge to public health.

Global population ageing means that by 2050 over 60s will comprise 22% of the world population at 2 billion (Banister et al, 2012). A report prepared by the Population Division for the World Assembly on Ageing in 2002 shows that population ageing is 'unpredecedented,' 'pervasive' and 'enduring', having a wide range of consequences for many countries and governments (UN). This wide spread phenomenon, therefore has many implications and this essay studies these in terms of economic, social, environmental and health factors. It then examines the responses of governments to these challenges and the use of innovation by scientists to reduce the negative impacts of an ever increasing elderly population.

The world’s population is ageing rapidly. Between 2000 and 2050, the proportion of the world's older adults is estimated to double from about 11% to 22%. In absolute terms, this is an expected increase from 605 million to 2 billion people over the age of 60.