As the population ages, why is there a continued focus on youth? Is it
denial or is there something to it? As it turns out the focus on a
'youthful feeling' may have a really pay off. In a JAMA Internal
Medicine article, it found that "people who felt three or more years
younger than their actual (chronological) age had a lower death rate
compared with those who felt their age or those who felt more than
one year older than their actual age." There was a strong relationship
between a feeling younger and cardiovascular health. Why? feeling
younger leads to better overall health habits. a There was strong
correlation with 'good habits' like exercise. “When people see
themselves as old, they’re more likely to abandon physical challenges
which feel difficult, such as, ‘I don’t think I should ski any more, I’m an
old man.’ When people feel younger psychologically, even if physical
exercise is challenging, they’re more likely to pursue it, believing no
pain no gain,” Godman (2014 ). When people feel younger, they also
make better choices about diet and that has a positive impact as well.
Feeling younger also bring about a better sense of resiliancy and that
keeps people young as well (Godman, 2014).
In an interesting article by Clarke and Kortochenko, 2011, they
discuss the the change in focus from appearance to function as we
age and that while there can certainly be overlap that is subject to
social and societal pressures much of the gains are in terms of relative
function . There are certainly variations between men and women but
they found " that the onset of health issues and a concomitant loss of
functional abilities led to a re-evaluation of their personal priorities
whereby looks became less salient." Clarke and Kortochenko (2011)
The focus on youth becomes the end around to feel better and
function better in the time we have in our bodies rather than to
focus on looking younger as the goal.
Clarke, L. H., & Korotchenko, A. (2011). Aging and the Body: A
Review. Canadian journal on aging = La revue canadienne du
vieillissement, 30(3), 495–510.
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0714980811000274
Godman, H. (2014, January 19). Feeling younger at heart may help you
live onger. Home | Harvard Medical School. Retrieved January 24,
2022, from https://hms.harvard.edu/
Rippon I, Steptoe A. Feeling Old vs Being Old: Associations Between
Self-perceived Age and Mortality. JAMA Intern Med.
2015;175(2):307–309. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2014.6580
