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Perception of when old age starts has increased over time, shows study

As people get older, they revise the age they consider to be old upwards

The researchers behind the study said the upward shift could be down to increases in life expectancy and retirement age, as well as other factors. The results from 14,056 middle-aged and older adults who answered the question between one and eight times over a 25-year period from 1996, when they were between 40 and 100 years old, reveals that the point at which old age is thought to begin has increased. The team add that while the perception of when old age begins was higher for women than men, and lower for those who had poor health or were more lonely, neither these factors nor education level or how old participants felt, fully explained their findings.

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