What age is considered old?
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Anonymous
What?? Still? It's been 50 for decades. |
Anonymous
+1 I never felt old until this bday. Even when active and stylish, 60 seems OLD. |
Anonymous
Yikes!π± I am going to be this age in just a few short weeks and am dreading how I will feel! Lol! |
Anonymous
50 = really old. |
Anonymous
This^. |
Anonymous
Only for the beginning of old age. Very old starts 75-80. Many living into their 80s and 90s with a greater number reaching triple digits. |
Anonymous
Really? If that's true, 50 is a teen. |
Anonymous
Ha - a lot of teens will be going through menopause if that is your cut off for adolescence β¦ π 50s are not that old though. But 65 is considered the beginning of old age. I think the beginning of very old age is 80. The median age is still under 40 but has increased from 30-39 over past few decades. In 2024, there are an estimated 101,000 Americans aged 100 and older, and this number is projected to more than quadruple to around 422,000 by 2054, according to the Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/01/09/us-centenarian-population-is-projected-to-quadruple-over-the-next-30-years/ Older Population Growth: The older population (65 and over) reached 55.8 million or 16.8% of the population of the United States in 2020. Projected Growth: The number of Americans aged 65 and older is projected to increase from 58 million in 2022 to 82 million by 2050, a 47% increase Fastest Growth Rate: The older population grew by 38.6% from 40.3 million to 55.8 million between 2010 and 2020. https://acl.gov/news-and-events/announcements/acl-releases-2023-profile-older-americans |
Anonymous
Whatever, grandma. 
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Anonymous
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I research this area. For research purposes, elderly is generally considered 65+, and the 85+ are often called "oldest-old".
Source: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6301865/#:~:text=Although%20there%20are%20different%20ways,oldest%2Dold%20%5B5%5D. But on a personal level, I agree that it varies a lot. People in their 30s and 40s can be more or less healthy, but after 50 the variance explodes. I'm in my early 50s and I see people my age who have trouble getting around, but also active people in their 70s who are stronger and faster than the typical 35 year old. I know there are no guarantees, but my goal is to be comfortable going on 5 mile hikes when I'm in my 80s. |
Anonymous
Yup. And someday you will too. |
Anonymous
Your research community seriously needs to find another word to describe that group. The current name is ridonc |
Anonymous
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I think it depend on the person, how active they are and how well they take care of themselves.
I know people who are 75+ that don't feel old at all. I also know people who felt and looked incredibly old at 50 or 60 because they don't take care of themselves. |
Anonymous
I'm about to be 58 and feel middle aged. In good shape, good blood work, not in menopause yet so that might be a challenge when it hits. But I definitely do not feel old. |
Anonymous
| I think itβs contextual and not based on a number. Fit, flexible, energetic, curious, positive, full of good humor - these are qualities you can have at any age. Curmudgeonly, grouchy, out of shape, bored/boring - these are also qualities you can have at any age. |