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Positive aging

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There is an estimated 700 million people over the age of 60 globally. It is predicted that by 2050, this figure will rise to two billion.

Owing to these figures, initiatives have been undertaken to try and address issues that will arise. Two examples are the Vienna Plan of Action on Ageing adopted in 1982, and the UN Principles for Older Persons of 1991.

In addition, the UN General Assembly in 1990 declared Oct. 1st as the International Day of Older Persons. The World Health Organization has also been playing a significant role in the celebration by actively promoting public awareness of the day.

In the Philippines, the senior citizen population was estimated at 3.7 million in 1995, and 4.8 million five years later in 2000. Currently, the country has seven million senior citizens, which constitute 6.9 percent of the total population.

What is positive aging? The WHO defines it as the “process of developing and maintaining the functional ability that enables well-being in older age.”

The Japanese definition is rooted in Buddhist, Confucian, and Taoist philosophical traditions that characterize aging as maturity, understood as a “socially valuable part of life, even a time of ‘spring’ or ‘rebirth’ after a busy period of working and raising children”.

There are five places in the world, called blue zones, where people live longer than anywhere else: Ikaria in Greece; Loma Linda in California; Sardinia in Italy; Okinawa in Japan; and Nicoya in Costa Rica.

Blue Zones founder Dan Buettner identified nine lifestyle habits:

Move naturally. Go about your life without thinking much about it. Such exercise includes gardening.

Purpose. Referred to as ikigai by the Okinawans, this is your reason for getting up in the morning. Find it, and you’ll live about seven years more.

Down shift. Learn how to manage stress. Pray, remember your ancestors, take naps, engage in happy hour.

80% rule. Stop eating before you are full. Eat your smallest meal in the late afternoon or early evening, and do not eat anything else. Control your weight.

Plant slant. Eat more beans. You can eat pork but not more five times in a month. Serving size is only three to four ounces.

Wine at 5. Take one to two glasses of Sardinian Cannonau wine per day together with friends, and with food.

Belong. Be part of a faith-based community. Participating in church activities four times per month adds four to 14 years to your life.

Loved ones first. Put family and your parents first. Live with your aging parents and grandparents, or live nearby. This lowers disease and mortality rates of children in the home.

Right tribe. Get to choose your own social circles. Or you may have been born into them. These social circles usually support healthy behaviors.

Cathleen Tomey, author of the book The Secret to Successful Aging, claims that to reach old age fruitfully, we should not let loneliness take over our lives. We need to stay connected with others.

She suggests: celebrate your age, defy expectations, grow friendships.

The WHO advises senior citizens: Oldies, rejoice! You have many more good years to come. But eat well, lay off the booze, and throw away that stick.

This year’s theme: The journey to age equality. Happy International Older Persons Day!

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Author’s email: [email protected]

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