Durban - I’m getting my butt kicked by people twice, even thrice, my age. In confectionery terms my yoga teacher, Dr Phil Joffe, 70, is a pretzel. I’m more of a custard Danish, stodgy and a bit weak.
Many of the older women I meet dress far more fashionably (and immaculately) than I do. And while I’m at home on the weekends with my washing, baby and bond, my older, divorced friend is out with her Facebook buddies, partying up a storm – in another country or at some music festival.
The empty-nesters and their compatriots – frankly those who 25 years ago would have died from a heart attack by now (treated then with just morphine and lidocaine) have benefited greatly from medical advances.
Some drugs, such as Herceptin, receptive in about 25 percent of women with breast cancer, have turned fatal disease into chronic illness.
The control of infectious diseases, the early detection of illness as well as improvements in hygiene and water supply, mean that people are living longer.
Statistically it’s been shown that the world has a rapidly increasing number of oldies.
According to UN research, in 1950 there were about 200 million people aged 60 and older throughout the world. There are now about 580 million, and by 2025, the number of people over the age of 60 is expected to reach 1.2 billion.
In China, the controversial one-child policy has sparked a reverse reaction and they’re calling it a “demographic time bomb”.
According to the National Institute on Aging in America the number of Americans aged 65 or older increased tenfold in the last century and the elderly are living longer, in more comfort and in better health than ever before.
But old age, widely viewed as a social problem by ageist societies, has a whole new dimension today.
Marketing gurus have cottoned on to the trend – targeting the group who have more time and money for themselves and the things they like.
Jerry Black, executive vice-president at one of Japan’s largest supermarket groups (the country with the fastest-growing elderly population where one in five of its people are already over the age of 60), was quoted in the Huffington Post as saying, “This is the wealthiest, most active, healthiest and longest-living retirement generation in the history of the world.”
Spending and indeed, lifestyle have changed for golden oldies.
According to the US-based Silver Century Foundation divorce among people in their 50s, 60s, 70s and beyond has become so common the pundits have even coined a phrase for it, “gray divorce”.
Older people are living their lives. And in a countries like South Africa, where they might not as yet have the kind of financial clout of those in America and China, they’ve certainly begun to change their perceptions about old age.
I met 81-year-old Bluff biker, Alan Young, this week. He’s no hell-raiser, but the Classics Motorcycle Club member talks emphatically about moderation in all things, proper diet, golf and exercise. He rides a mountain bike to keep fit.
Young keeps himself occupied. He’s currently building a four-cylinder 1976 Honda 400. He has a spiffy 2007 Honda 150 to “run-around” with.
For those who retire with their health and a hobby, life’s a dream.
Mind you, many work passionately beyond retirement – Joffe still lectures and teachers Pilates and yoga. He’s also active on social media and runs his own website.
He says his relationship “with a younger woman” (she’s 60) is what keeps him young.
“You’re as old as the woman you feel,” he jokes.
If anything, the research suggests we should all be planning for a long and fruitful retirement – and like these two guys, make sure we’ve got something to keep us busy. - The Mercury
Follow me on twitter @omeshnie