Biological Theory Of Aging Essay

The elderly population is growing rapidly and now makes up greater than thirteen percent of the United States population. (APA, 1994). With such a record growth, there are different aspects to aging that are still being analyzed. Many may think of reaching late life as a rite of passage, but many face this time with a different view. Through the movie "UP', we are granted an opportunity into view the struggles of an elderly widowed man by the name of Mr. Fredrickson and the challenges in which he faces in his later life. The movie, takes one on a journey through his sorrows and his triumphs until he realizes what the true meaning of happiness is.

2. The MSNBC webcast recounts different stories of the aging population in America. One of the cases mentioned in the web cast is Arden peters and his wife Maxine. The aging theory of wear and tear can be applied to the case of Arden peters who has lost his wife Maxine due to dementia and Parkinson’s. He himself became too weak to care for himself due to the process of aging (MSNBC, n.d). He reached a point where he required someone to care for him. His friend Warren DeWitt is taking care of him and previously helped him take care of his wife until she passed away (MSNBC, n.d). The theory of wear and tear is based on the notion that aging is caused by damages done at the cellular level over time (Hawkley, Berntson, Engeland, Marucha, 2005). The processes that could damage the cells could be sickness, radiation, and accumulation of toxic materials over time

A theory of ageing is a explanation or reason for the natural cause of ageing. It explains the changes a person goes through when they age. Theories can be proved or sided by laws and facts and tested hypotheses.

Two different types of theories of ageing; Disengagement Theory and Activity Theory. Robert J. Havighurst being the main substance of ageing. Disengagement theory- Theorists of Cumming and Henry;. This theory has the outlook that as you get older, you tend to distance ourselves from others and start to have your own life and disengagement on the world.

Aging, though it is usually defined as a biological process, it is also the gathered development of change with time. Aging is a continuous, complex and dynamic process that begins even before birth and ends with death. Unless death occurs at an early age, all humans grow old and experience the effects of the aging process. The process of aging does not

(1) The theory that best support my current views on aging is the Wear-and-Tear Theory. The theory is “the idea that changes associated with aging are the result of chance damage to the body that accumulate over time”. (2) As many of us know, the body is constantly renewing itself. The cells in you is constantly creating new ones to replace the old, just like a boat. You are constantly restoring all the parts, where the boat will basically be almost all new parts. I think our body is like a built boat, car, or even a house, you must keep repairing it. Some people would literally get a new body part. A blood transfusion, heart replacement and a leg replacement are some examples of the theory. But just like a used car, boat or house, we stop

Another example many of us could relate would be heart attacks. Perhaps one of our friends, loved ones, or a neighbor had a heart attack. Chances are that person will not be able to function the same as they did prior to the heart attack. Heart attacks come with aging, thus the Wear and Tear Theory is supported in that some cell damage through out life is

The physiological aging signifies to the changes in structure and body functioning that happen over a lifetime. Some of these changes are involuntary and happen very slowly while other changes happen in a short period of time. The physiological changes that usually happen are cardiovascular system which reduce the elasticity of the blood vessels and heart valves, regulated blood stream due to the thickening of the vessel walls and as the fatty deposits lining the vessels and a reduce the ability of the heart pump out as much blood with each beat. For this reason, you can feel fatigued, develop short of breath and get simply less ability to physical effort.

The article Understanding the Odd Science of Aging, characterize aging as “a progressive, generalized impairment of functions, resulting in an increasing vulnerability to environmental challenges and a growing risk of diseases and death.” In the article many theories are mentioned relating to why humans age such as the somatic mutation theory, telomere loss theory, mitochondrial theory, altered proteins theory and waste accumulation theory. Though

As aging is a stage of development that cannot prevented, the question of “can one’s aging be more successful than another?” is posed my many. Researchers continually consider the differences between aging successfully, and aging unsuccessfully. As researchers work to complete their studies, many find a reoccurring basis of successful aging. A basis of successful aging can be set including: physical health disease free, chronic illness free, mental health disease free, among many others. The only problem with this basis is the difference from person to person in terms of what makes aging successful. As individuals age, their mental state is a large predictor of how the person will age. A positive mental state about aging, will have a more positive effect on a person’s aging process. Many factors may influence the positivity of aging, such as negative aging stereotypes and discrimination because of older age. These negative aging stereotypes include but are not limited to: older adults are not as smart, older adults are angry all the time, older adults are bad drivers, older adults are isolated and never socialize. In adult aging and development, having a positive outlook on aging will lead to better mental and physical aging.

The way God created us as humans is a life cycle where eventually late adulthood comes with the biology of aging. Santrock (2013) describes five different theories of why humans age (p. 541). The evolutionary theory explains that aging is more of a natural selection process, and diseases occur in the elderly because they “would have been eliminated” if they were in younger people (Santrock, 2013, p.541). Cellular clock theory describes how cells get tired of dividing after they have been reproducing for so long (Santrock, 2013, p.541). Free-radical theory explains when “cells metabolize energy the by-products include unstable oxygen molecules known as free radicals” (Santrock, 2013, p.541). The unstable oxygen molecules can damage DNA and other structures inside the cell (Santrock, 2013, p.541). Mitochondrial theory describes how aging occurs because of the mitochondria essentially wearing out and becoming less efficient (Santrock, 2013, p.542). Mitochondria are the cell’s “power house,” and they convert energy inside the cell (Bailey, 2008). The last theory, hormonal stress theory, illustrates the effects of stress, especially long term stress, on aging (Santrock, 2013, p.542). Stress released hormones which depress the immune system making people more susceptible to disease (Santrock, 2013, p.542). There are many theories about why human’s age, and all of them may be true, but regardless aging is inevitable and so are its effects.

Telomeres are directly correlated to the aging of a human body. Although some people might think that shorter telomere lengths are detrimental, the natural shortening of these telomeres are essential to healthy and normal aging. It is natural for cells to divide through mitosis, but each time cells are split telomeres are lost through the process. This is why the telomere maintenance system was evolved to protect the ends of chromosomes (Prescott, Kraft, & Chasman, 2011). Every time a cell is divided, its telomeres are weakened, and stress can accelerate this weakening, and biologically age the person. As a

Aging is the process of becoming older, as we age, multiple mutations occur that concern all the processes of aging well as it compromising a number of different genes. There are many theories of biological aging, such as the Cellular Aging Theory, Immunological Theory, and the Wear and Tear Theory. The Cellular Aging theory describes the process of aging in which cells slow their number of replication, thus giving each species a “biological clock that determines its maximum life span” and how quickly one 's health will deteriorate(Hooyman, 42). After a certain number of years, each cell which follows an apparent biological clock starts to replicate itself less, thus the specific individual or species slowly deteriorates. This theory gives

Causes of aging are very uncertain. Besides, there are several factors which predispose an individual to premature aging. Current theories suggest that this process occurs to due to cellular damage such as DNA oxidation by free radicals causing

Humanity has come a long way as we evolve and adapt to the changing environment. Through the years, we have managed to overcome several limitations, which in the past were nothing more than dreams. We succeeded in landing on the moon and communicating over long distance, yet there are still some boundaries we have yet to cross despite our best effort. Aging is an inevitable process of nature. While we cannot stop the ticking clock in our body, we have made it possible for aging to be delayed and relieved to a great extent through advance technology and modern governance. High-tech equipments and medications are available for the treatments of more illnesses as our understanding of medicine improves and governments nowadays are doing