AGEING EXPLODING THE MYTHS

Item

Title
AGEING EXPLODING THE MYTHS
extracted text
International Year
of Older Persons

Exploding the myths

Ageing and Health Programme
World Health Organization

WHO/HSC/AHE/99.1
Distr.: General
Orig.; English

Foreword
The ageing of the global population is one of the biggest challenges facing the world
in the next century. It is also potentially a great opportunity. Older people have a lot
to contribute.

Older people are often viewed as a homogeneous group from mainly industrialised
countries, who no longer contribute to their families and societies, and may even be
a burden. The tr uth could not be more different. The majority of older people prove
these notions wrong everj' day, and it is an example that has inspired the WHO to
focus on ageing.
The theme of World Health Day 1999, in the International Year of Older Persons,
“Active Ageing makes the difference” recognises that it is key for older people to go
on playing a part in society. Active Ageing involves every dimension of our lives:
physical, mental, social and spiritual.
There is much the individual can do to remain active and healthy in later life. The
right life style, involvement in family and society and a supportive environment for
older age all preserve well-being. Policies that reduce social inequalities and poverty
are essential to complement individual efforts towards Active Ageing.

Maintaining health and quality of life across the lifespan will do much towards
building fulfilled lives, a harmonious, intergenerational community and a dynamic
economy. WHO is committed to promoting Active Ageing as an indispensible
component of all development programmes.
Gro Harlem Brundtland, MD, MPH
Director-General
World Health Organization

Ageing:

Exploding the myths
We are all ageing - every day of our life. John H. Glenn, Jr. was 77 years old when
he went into space for a second time as part of a scientific experiment to explore
the secrets of ageing. Every one of us started to age before we were born and we
continue to do so throughout our entire life course. Ageing is a natural process
and should be welcomed, because the alternative would be premature death.
Life expectancy has risen sharply this century, and is expected to continue to rise,
in virtually all populations throughout the world. The number of people reaching
old age is therefore increasing. There are currently 580 million people in the world
who are aged 60 years or older. This figure is expected to rise to 1,000 million by
2020 - a 7.5% increase compared with 50% for die population as a whole.
Health is vital to maintain well-being and quality of life in older age, and is
essential if older citizens are to continue niaking aptive contributions to society.
The vast majority of older people enjoy sound-health, lead very active and
fulfilling lives, and can muster intellectydfj'emotional and social reserves often
unavailable to younger people.

This brochure outlines how the gjgmciples of Active Ageing help maintain health
and creativity throughout the L Kspan and especially into the later years. It
explodes some common mVths ’about ageing and older people, and suggests ways
that individuals and policvfmalers can turn principles into practice to make
Active Ageing a global realiaBHk

3

Valuing older age
Social perceptions of the value and benefits of old age vary in different cultures. In
many African and Asian countries, words which describe older people characterise
them as ‘someone with knowledge’. However, in some cultures these traditional
values are in danger of being eroded. It is important to recognise that ageing is not
an affliction but a great opportunity to make use of resources acquired over the life
course, and that older people can be a tremendous asset to families and the
community.

Living in an ageing world
Females

Males

H0+ -

75-7970-7465-6960-64-

55-5950-54-

45-4940-4435-3930-3425-2920-24-

15-1910—145-9-

400

350

300

250

200

150

100

50

0

50

100

150

Millions
Source: United Nations medium-variant predictions

6

200
Millions

250

300

350

400

Myth No. 2:

Older people are all the same
‘Older people’ constitute a very diverse group. Many older people lead active and
healthy lives, while some much younger ‘older people’ have a poorer quality of life.
People age in unique ways, depending on a large variety of factors, including their
gender, ethnic and cultural backgrounds, and whether they live in industrialised or
developing countries, in urban or rural settings. Climate, geographical location.
family size, life skills and experience are all factors that make people less and less
alike as they advance in age.

Individual variations in biological characteristics (e.g. blood pressure or physical
strength) tend to be greater between older people than between young ones: the
characteristics of two ten-year-olds would be more similar than those of two eighty­
year-olds. Such diversity leads to considerable difficulties in interpreting results
from scientific studies on ageing, which are often conducted on particular, well
defined groups of older people: the findings may not apply to a large proponion, or
even the majority of older people.

The differences are further increased by disease experiences throughout life which
may accelerate the ageing process. Many studies have shown that there are wide
variations in patterns of disease in people from different ethnic and cultural
communities which remain largely unexplained. For example, immigrants and their
descendants who move from the Indian subcontinent to countries across the globe
havedtiglicr rates of coronary heart disease than the population of the countries to
which^l letVmoved.
7

Why such difference?
A genetic component may contribute to how long we live. However, health and
activity in older age are largely a summary of the experiences, exposures and actions
of an individual during the whole span of life.

Our life course begins before birth. Research has suggested that foetuses
undernourished in the womb grow up to be adults more likely to suffer from a
variety of diseases, including coronary heart disease and diabetes; they also seem to
age faster than people who receive good nutrition during early life. Malnutrition in
childhood, particularly during the first year of life, childhood infections such as
polio and rheumatic fever, and exposure to accidents and injuries all make chronic
and sometimes disabling diseases more likely in adult life. Life style factors in
adolescence and adulthood, such as smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, lack
of exercise, inadequate nutrition or obesity, greatly add to disease and disability at
any age in adulthood.
Differences in education level, income, and in social roles and expectations during
all stages of a person’s life increase the diversity of ageing. Throughout tire world,
the average education of older people is below that of younger people. Such
differences are important because higher levels of
education are associated with better health. It is
well known that children’s health is directly linked
to their mothers’ education levels. Women with
more education have fewer and healthier children.
People with higher education levels at all ages tend
to adopt and maintain healthier life styles, and
have better access to health care and health
information.

8

Life style choicesfor Active Ageing
should start early in life and
include:
► participating in family and
community life
► eating a balanced, healthy diet
► maintaining adequate physical
activity
► avoiding smoking
► avoiding excessive alcohol
consumption

Poverty is clearly linked to a shorter life span and
poorer health in older age. Less well-off people tend to
live in more harmful environments where they are
more likely to be exposed to higher levels of indoor air
pollution and to the risk of diseases such as diarrhoea
and respiratory infections. Poor housing structure and
overcrowding increase the risks of accidents and
transmission of infectious diseases; in many developing
countries, the home may be used as a workplace where
hazardous substances are stored.

Social isolation, because of widowhood or divorce for
example, has adverse effects on health. Playing a part
in family life, and being a member of a community or
religious organisation have beneficial effects on health,
improve a person’s self-worth and enable older people to make a greater
contribution to society.

For older people living in poverty, access to adequate nutrition is often in jeopardy.
Malnutrition is still one of the major contributors to disease and disability in the
developing world. Although the percentage of malnourished people has declined
worldwide, WHO figures indicate that 840 million people were still below the
nutrition threshold (representing the minimrequimtuwrts) in the early
I 990s. Older people are particularlyyulneratw^'StudigyBWTe developing world
suggest that older women; for example? are likely to deprive themselves of food in
favour of the young.^'OTires of shortage.

Promoting Active Ageing
Although the individual may not have control over early life experiences and other
factors such as poverty or low education, actions taken during the remaining life
course greatly affect health in later life. Information about healthy life styles needs
to be promoted, including the importance of a balanced, healthy diet, adequate
exercise, the avoidance of smoking and excessive alcohol consumption. In addition,
policy decisions to encourage healthy, active ageing must include the creation of
supportive social and environmental
conditions throughout life. Equity,
provision of efficient basic services and
participation by all in society are
essential concepts if the opportunities
and potential of a rapidly ageing world
are to be realised.

Myth No. 3:

Men and women age the same ivay
Women and men age differently. First of all, women live longer than men. Part of
women’s advantage with respect to life expectancy is biological. Far from being the
weaker sex they seem to be more resilient than men at all ages, but particularly
during early infancy. In adult life too, women may have a biological advantage, at
least until menopause, as hormones protect them from ischaemic heart disease, for
example.
Currently, female life expectancy at birth ranges from just over 50 years in the least
developed countries to, well over 80 in many developed countries, where the typical
female advantag&rffTlife expectancy ranges from five to eight years. As a result, the
oldest old in jrfost parts of the world are predominantly women. However, longer
lives do not necessarily translate into healthier lives and patterns of health and
illness in women and men show marked differences. Women’s longevity makes
them ihori likely to suffer from the chronic diseases commonly associated with old
age. \Ve know, for instance, that women are more likely to suffer from osteoporosis,
diabet^^»peitension, incontinence, and arthritis than men. By reducing mobility,
chronic OT^Ltng diseases such as arthritis have an impact on die capacity to
maintain socit^qntacts and thus on the quality of life. Men are more likely to
suffer from heart disease and stroke, but as women age, these diseases become the
major causes of death and disability for women too. The common view that heart
disease and stroke are exclusively men’s problems has obscured recognition of their
significance for older women’s health and more research is necessary' in this area.

10

Gender and health in older age
While some of the differences between women and men are due to biological
characteristics, others are due to socially determined roles and responsibilities, i.e.
gender divisions and gender roles. Historically, women have not always lived longer
than men. In Europe and North America, the gap only started to grow as economic
development and social change removed some of the major risks to women’s health.
With greater control over the size of their families and improvements in living
conditions and hygiene, women’s risk of dying in childbirth decreased. At the same
time, the gender division of labour meant that men were taking on more
occupational risks as industrialisation spread to more countries. As a result, male
deaths from occupational causes have historically always been higher than among
females.

Men have also taken more risks when it comes to life styles. They have tended to
smoke more than women, for example, resulting in higher levels of death from lung
cancer. Recent figures from the Russian Federation show that, between 1987 and
1994, while life expectancy fell for both men and women, the steepest decline was
for men, with a fall of over seven years
and in some parts of the country even
more. A number of factors contributed
to this fall, but research has suggested
that many of the causes of death, such
as accidents and violence, pneumonia
and sudden cardiac death were linked
with alcohol consumption. Life style
factors combined with occupational
risks have contributed to greater
numbers of premature deaths among
males, particularly in industrialised
societies.

11

The impact ofgender discrimination
In some societies, the biological advantage of women is reduced bv their social
disadvantage. The natural advantage in women’s life expectancy is significantly
reduced in societies where female infant mortality is higher and where girls face
discrimination. Social and economic disadvantages also have important
repercussions in many other areas. For example, in all countries, inequalities in
income and wealth in earlier life mean that older women tend to be poorer than
older men. Women everywhere still earn less than men and are often concentrated
in lower-paid jobs. In industrialised countries, women’s income from pensions and
social security is still lower than that of older men. It is lower because women more
often than men interrupt their careers to take care of children and other family
members. In fact, in both developed and developing countries, women’s entry into
paid work only rarely frees them from responsibility for domestic labour, and this
double burden on women often takes its toll on their health. In developing
countries, where most people do not benefit from public income security schemes
in old age, older women are almost always dependent on their families.

Because women live longer than men, they are also more likely to become widowed.
This trend is compounded by the fact that most women marry men who are older
than themselves. In fact most women can expect widowhood to be part of the later
years of their adult life. In some societies, social norms of widowhood impose
restrictions that have negative effects on the widow’s well-being. Inheritance rights,
in particular, are often not well established or non-existent in practice. While the
vast majority of older women in developed countries cope with adjustments to
widowhood, it remains one of the leading factors associated with poverty, loneliness
and isolation.

International action plans developed at recent UN world conferences encourage
countries to review their legal frameworks for eliminating discrimination between
men and women. Issues covered include equal access to education for boys and
girls, combating all types of discrimination against girls
and eliminating negative traditional practices, such as
female genital mutilation. Many of these early
An improved quality oflifefor both
interventions against inequality will set a life course
women and men can be achieved through:
trajectory that is more conducive to healthy and active
► more equal distribution of work, caring
ageing. In addition, NGOs and women’s organizations in
and leisure activities between men and
both developed and developing countries are giving more
women throughout the life course
attention to the urgent issues faced by older women today.
There are some encouraging examples of older women
► educating boys and girls to understand
themselves forming advocacy groups and starting self-help
and avoid gender stereotyping
projects that lead to empowerment and a better quality
► combating gender discrimination in all
of life.

aspects oflife, includingjobs, pay,
education and access to health care
► mainstreaming gender analysis in all
areas of healthy ageing

12

Gender analysis examines the origins of biological
differences, disadvantage, and inequality between women
and men. The objective of gender analysis is to improve
the quality of life of both women and men as they age.

Myth No. 4:

Olderpeople arefrail
Far from being frail, the vast majority of older people remain physically fit well into
later life. As well as being able to carry out the tasks of daily living, they continue to
play an active part in community life. In other words, they maintain high
‘functional capacity’.

As in all aspects of ageing, there are differences in the wav functional capacity is
maintained in different groups of older people. Although women live longer than
men, they tend to experience more disabling diseases as they grow older compared
with men of the same age. There is also a wide variation in the perceived need for
certain functional abilities among older people. In some societies, for example.
fetching water and firewood are tasks traditionally carried out bv women.
Maintaining maximum functional capacity is as important for older people as
freedom from disease.

13

Life style and ageing
The capacity of our biological systems (e.g. muscular strength, cardiac capacity)
increases during the first years of life, reaches its peak in early adulthood and
declines thereafter. How fast it declines, however, is largely determined bv external
factors relating-wridnlfajifestvle, including smoking, alcohol consumption, diet and
social class. The naturarTffcline in cardiac function, for example, can be accelerated
by smoking, leaving the individual with lower functional capacity than would
normally be expected for his/her age. The gradient of decline may become so steep
as to result in disability.

However, the acceleration in decline caused by external factors may be reversible at
any age. Smoking cessation and small increases in the level of physical fitness, for
example, reduce the risk of developing coronary heart disease including in later life.
For those who are disabled, improvements in rehabilitation and adaptations of the
physical environment can help reduce the progression of disability.
Many chronic diseases which reduce functional capacitv are the result of an
unhealthy life style. According to the 1996 ‘The Global Burden of Disease' Report,
alcohol use is the leading cause of male disability in industrialised countries, and
the fourth largest cause in men in developing regions. The report further states that
non-communicable diseases, which are largely preventable, including cardiovascular
diseases and cancers, are a major cause of disability in both industrialised and
developing countries. Since many developing countries are still coping with
infectious diseases and malnutrition, this sharp rise in non-communicable diseases
is creating a double burden.

Social factors, which tlie individual can usually do little to change, also affect
functional capacity. Poor education, poverty, and harmful living and working
conditions all make reduced functional capacity more likely in later life. In some
countries, people with poor functional ability are more likely to become
institutionalised, which in itself can lead to dependence, particularly for the small
minority of older people who suffer from loss of mental function and/or confusion.

Policy decision makers should, therefore, take social factor into account. Policies
which benefit people who already have disabilities (e.g. public transport legislation,
structural changes to buildings etc.) can do much to improve quality of life.

Functional capacity throughout life

14

Health policy measuresfor
maintaining maximum health and
activity in later life include:
► promoting the benefits ofhealthy
life styles
► legislation on sales and advertising
ofalcohol and tobacco
► ensuring access to health care and
rehabilitation servicesfor older
people
- adapting physical environments to
existing disabilities

Older people who need care
The vast majority of people remain fit and able to care for
themselves in later life. It is a minority of old people, mostly
the very old, who become disabled to the point that they need
care and assistance with the activities of daily living.
Various measures have been developed to forecast the care
needs of an ageing population. One of the most commonly
used projections is to estimate disability-free life expectancy.
The most recent findings for developed countries show that
severe disability is declining in older people at a rate of
1.5% per year. United States estimates, for example, predict
the number of severely disabled older people will fall by half
between the year 2000 and 2050 if current trends continue.

About one-fifth of older people in developed countries currently receive forma! care,
i.e. medical or social services. Only one-third of such formal care is provided in
institutions while two-thirds is home-based. In fact, in recent years, many
developed countries have moved away from providing care in institutions in favour
of care that allows older people to remain in the community, in their own homes,
for as long as possible.

Older people are both the receivers and the providers of care. As well as caring for
grandchildren and their own children, many older people care for other family
members, especially their spouses and sometimes their own, often very aged,
parents. In fact, many of the ‘young’ old provide care for the very' old. Such care is
often provided out of affection, but also out of a sense of obligation and with the
expectation of reciprocity. The demands of providing such care may be stressful and
sometimes detrimental to the caregiver's own health. Recognising caregiver stress
and assisting the informal family caregiver, who is most often a woman, should be
an important policy' objective in the design of caregiving strategies.

Myth No. 5:

Olderpeople have nothing to contribute
The truth is that older people make innumerable contributions to their families,
societies and economies. The conventional view that perpetuates this myth tends
to focus on participation in the labour force and its decline with increasing age. It is
widely assumed that the fall in numbers of older people in paid work is due to a
decline in functional capacity associated with ageing. In fact, declining functional
capacity does not by any means equate to inability to work. Indeed, the physical
requirements of many jobs have been reduced by technological advances,
permitting severely disabled people to be fully economically productive. In
addition, the fact that there are fewer older people in paid work is more often due
to disadvantages in education, training and particularly to ‘ageism’, than to older
age per sc.

The widely held belief that older people have nothing to contribute also relies on
the notion that only paid occupations count. However, substantial contributions
are made by older people in unpaid work including agriculture, the informal sector
and in voluntary roles. Many economies worldwide depend to a large extent on
these activities, but few of them are included in the assessment of national
economic activities, leaving the contribution made bv older citizens often
unnoticed and undervalued.
16

Valuing what older people have to offer
means:

► recogn ising older people's roles in
development
► enabling older people to participate in
volunteer activities
► supporting the contributions that older
people make to society, particularly their
caring activities
► promoting lifelong learning
opportunities

Older people in paid and unpaid work
Due to financial insecurity, many older people, particularly
in developing countries, work in agricultural production
until very late in life. A large proportion of these are
women, as many agricultural activities are inseparable from
domestic tasks, including crop production and animal
husbandry.

Work in the so-called informal sector is difficult to
measure, as it is not part of the market economy and so
often remains ‘invisible’. The International Labour
Organization defines this sector as consisting generally of
‘small-scale, self-employed activities, with or without hired
workers’. This includes usually low-wage occupations, like
petty trading, selling street food and domestic work. Many
older people, especially in the developing world, support themselves and others
through work in this sector. The informal sector also refers to caring activities
within the family, including the provision of shelter, child care and health care. It is
estimated that over 2 million children in the United States are being cared for by
their grandparents, with 1.2 million of them living in their grandparents' home.
Older people therefore provide shelter, food, education, and transmit cultural values
to their grandchildren, while enabling moth^jj^r^ferthy^prfdttfce. In developed
and developing countries alike, many older people alst^^vide financial help to
their adult children or grandchildren. These transfers often involve substantial
amounts of money.

Caring for ailing spouses or relatives is traditionally done by older women, but
increasingly also by older men. In many developing countries with less established
health-care systems, older women act informally as nurses and midwives within
their communities. In some countries, where up to 30% of the adult population are
infected with the AIDS virus, older people will have to care for their adult children,
after whose death they will have to raise their orphaned grandchildren. Even in
developed countries, care for the chronically ill is largely provided by informal
family care-givers. Such care often remains ‘invisible’ because it has not been
quantified and valued in national accounts.

In developed and developing countries alike, skilled older people often act as
volunteer teachers and community leaders. In the United States alone, over three
million people aged 65 and above
are involved in voluntary activities
in schools, religious institutions,
health and political organizations.
Another example is the senior
executive service in which retired
senior experts make themselves
available for advice, business and
training free of chaige. Many
voluntary organisations in many
parts of the world would not
function without the contribution
made by older people.

Older people are an economic burden
on society

Myth No. 6:

Older people contribute in innumerable ways to the economic development of their
societies. However, two concurrent developments have contributed to the myth
that societies will not be able to afford to provide economic support and health care
for older people in the years to come. One of these developments is the growing
realisation of the sheer numbers of citizens who 'will be living to older ages in the
next century. The second development is the greater emphasis on market forces in
almost all parts of the world, and the related debate about tire proper role of the
state in providing income security and health care for its citizens.

,■

;

18

:!

There has been growing concern in many, particularly industrialised, countries
about the levels of state expenditures for social protection and whether costs could
be reduced by opening social protection to more private sector competition. This
worldwide debate has unfortunately placed the entire emphasis on the cost to
society of providing pensions and health care for older people rather than on the
continuing and significant economic contributions that older citizens make to
society It has given rise to the widely held myth that older persons are generally
economically dependent and thus a burden on societv . The facts, however,
demonstrate that th is is not a true reflection of reality. Two important
considerations - work and public pension protection - must be taken into account.

Older persons work
Most older persons around the world continue to work, in both paid and unpaid
jobs, making a significant contribution to the economic prosperity of their
communities. There is no economic or biological basis for retirement at a fixed age
(often 60 to 65 in developed countries). In fact, in national economies which are
dominated by agriculture, most older people, men and women, continue to work in
farm production until they are physically unable to carry' out their tasks, which is
often very late in life. And in developed societies, there is growing recognition that
older people should be fully enabled to work as long
ould in
no way prevent or hinder a person from getting a job and indeed the benefits of age
should be recognised and rewarded.
In periods of high unemployment, it has been easy to argue that older persons
should be encouraged to leave paid employment to free up places for younger job
seekers. Research has, however, demonstrated that the reality of the labour market
is far more complex and that the early withdrawal by older workers from the labour
force does not necessarily translate into jobs for the young. The unemployed job
seeker may not have, for example, the necessary training or skills to take the place
of the older worker. Indeed, experienced older workers are needed to ensure that
productivity is maintained and that labour force stability can be counted on by
employers and customers.

Pensions protect against poverty
Many older persons are now covered by both public and private pension schemes
which protect them from poverty, particularly in the more developed economies.
The worldwide growth of such schemes is related to the industrialisation of
economies, to urbanisation, and die loosening of traditional family bonds. These
pension programmes represent a collective approach to the sharing of resources
between people of working age and those who have retired from the labour force.
Income security concerns not only older
people, but also their children. In many
developing countries, population ageing
has added urgency' to the problem of
poverty' among older people. While in
the past, families were willing and able
to care for their parents, they now find
themselves in a changing world which
severely' limits dieir ability to assume
these traditional roles.

19

Investing in an ageing population means:
► life-long learning programmes to increase
the possibilities ofolderpeoplefinding
employment
► eliminating age discrimination in the
workplace
► promoting income security policies to
provide adequate income protection for
older people through reliable public and
private pension arrangements
► access to adequate health care to prevent
poverty due to ill health.
► adapting pension policies to provide
maximum individual choice and labour
market flexibility
-

The many decades of social security experience in
Europe, North America, Australia. New Zealand and
other countries has proved that a collective approach
to ensuring income security and health care for older
persons works. It is estimated that in many
industrialised societies, more than half of the older
population would fall into the poverty trap if they did
not have public pension benefits. Recent experience
has also demonstrated the constant need to adapt and
adjust these programmes to changing economic and
social conditions. Without adaptations (c.g.
modifications in retirement ages, survivors benefits,
flexible retirement ), the capacity of the pension
programmes to provide benefits in the future would be
severely endangered.

Tire 20th century experience with social security
protection also demonstrates the important link
between income status and health. Poverty is closely
associated with ill health. Ill health and incapacity arc
major threats to income security in many developing countries where poor nutrition
and living conditions leave many people too weak to produce enough to cover their
subsistence needs. In the developed countries, it is far more rare for ill health alone
to prevent people from earning their living. However, it is not uncommon for health
problems and disabilities to coincide with unemployment, thereby throwing people
into chronic situations of employment insecurity.

Access to health care is vital in order to help workers regain work capacity and to
ensure that children grow up into healthy adults able to participate productively in
society. Health policy must, therefore, adopt a life-cycle approach w'hich tackles
health problems from the very start, enabling people to grow older without
disabilities and chronic diseases.

The growing number of older people who expect health care and old-age pensions
should not be viewed as a threat or a crisis. It is an opportunity, rather, to develop
policies that will ensure decent living standards for all members of society, young
and old, in the future. Countries need to develop strategic framew'orks for the
coordination of health, social and economic reforms as w’ell as to raise the level of
public understanding of the policy' choices to be made. It is the need to examine
and make appropriate changes to health, social and economic policies, not the
ageing of populations, that is the biggest challenge facing societies today.

Action towards Active Ageing
■ Factors

Individual action

Policy action

Foetal
environment

- Ensure balanced nutrition in young girls
and pregnant or lactating women
► Avoid smoking during pregnancy

- Focus health promotion activities on girls and women
- Increase awareness about importance ofbalanced
nutrition for girls and women

Childhood
environment

Breastfeed babiesfor at least 4 months
Ensure balanced nutrition & adequate
physical exercisefor your children
Have your child immunised and observe
good hand &food hygiene to prevent
infection

Promote breastfeeding, legislate against advertisingfor
milk powder, andfortifyfoods/water in areas of
malnutrition
Ensure access to immunisation programmes
Improve sanitation & housing and reduce domestic
overcrowding

Smoking

- Stop smoking - cessation is beneficial at
any age
► Educate your children about the ill effects
ofsmoking

- Ban tobacco advertising
► Ban sale oftobacco to children
- Provide health education in schools and workplace

_______________ I

Alcohol

- Maintain moderate drinking limits
- Seek professional help ifyou think you
may drink excessively

; Physical
1 activity

- Exercise regularlyfrom the earliest years
through to older ages; walking, climbing
stairs, and housework are effectiveforms
ofexercise!

► Incorporate exercise into school curricula
- Create workplaces which provide exercisefacilities
- Encourage sportsfor seniors

Diet

- Consume a diet high infibre and low in
animalfat and salt
► deduce your weight ifyou are overweight
and maintain normal body weight

► Increase consumer awareness about direct links between
good nutrition and health

Adult
Diseases

► Implement evaluatedprevention programmes
► Make above-listed life style adjustments
► Make use ofavailable prevention programmes ► Ensure access to safe maternity services
► Provide accessible and affordable health care for all and
(screen ing and vaccination)
reduce environmental threats
- See your doctor at regular intervals

► Ban sale ofalcohol to children

Stay involved in yourfamily, your
community, a club, ora religious
organisation
Be aware ofand speak out against ageism
Continue to educate yourselfand allyour
children

Support activities that foster social cohesion
Provide access to life-long learning
Promote solidarity among the generations

Gentler

Be aware ofand speak out against gender
discrimination and prejudice
Educate boys and girls to avoidgender
stereotyping

Implement legislation against gender discrimination in
education, jobs, health care, property rights, marriage and
inheritance laws
Promote health education on the dangers ofhigh risk life
styles by targeting population groups that are particularly
at risk
Integrate gender analysis in health research and health
care programmes

Income
security

Be informed about public and private
measures intended to protect income
security over the life course

Social
Integration

Provide income security and access to appropriate health
carefor older persons

f

a-SOCkaka

- ''oV —_ __ -

Ageing and Health at WHO
The major challenge facing die Ageing and Health Programme is to understand
and promote the factors that keep people healthy into older ages. Since health and
well-being in older age are largely a result of experiences throughout the lifespan,
work on ageing and health takes a holistic approach, involving other WHO
programmes, such as primary healdi care, gender analysis, non-communicable
diseases, mental health and rehabilitation. The programme is extending the impact
of its work by collaborating with a number of academic institutions and non­
governmental oi^anizations. WHO's Ageing and Health Progamme must be a
catalyst for action.

Active Ageing in the International Year of Older
Persons 1999
The United Nations is marking 1999 as the International Year of Older Persons,
with the theme ‘Towards a Society for All Ages’. A key principle will be the concept
of Active Ageing, whereby people of all ages are encouraged to take steps to ensure
greater health and well being in the later years for themselves and for their
communities.
WHO is taking# worldwide lead in promoting Active Ageing. During the
InternationaPY^ar of Older Persons, the WHO Ageing and Health Programme is
initiating the Global Movement for Active Ageing. This is a network for all those
who are interested in moving policies and practice towards Active Ageing. The
Global Mqycmtnt will be inaugurated by a global walk event, the Global Embrace,
on Saturdaj^Mtetober 1999. In time zone after time zone, ageing will be
celebrated in ciuH^jpund the world through individual walk events. The Global
Embrace is therefore afT'around-the-clock-around-the-world party to which all
countries are invited. It was conceived to inspire, to inform, to promote health and
to provide enjoyment and good company. It will link local projects to a global
community of similar concerns and to people all over the world.
22

Acknowledgement
WHO’s Ageing and Health Programme thanks the following persons for the use of their photos
on the cover and in the brochure: Adam Pierre Adossama. Sara Bhattacharji, John H. Glenn,
Ibrahim Ibrahim and Andree Picard.

© Copyright World Health Organization 1999
This document is not a formal publication of the World Health Organization (WHO), and all
rights are reserved by the Organization. The document may, however, be freely reviewed.
abstracted, reproduced and translated, in part or in whole, but not for sale nor for use in
conjunction with commercial purposes.
Design: Marilyn Langfeld

Illustrator: Janet Petitpicrre
Photos copyrights: Front cover portraits WHO/Marcel Crozet; front cover background
PhotoDisc; inside front cover WHO/H. Anenden; page 3 NASA; page 4 UNICEFAVorld Summit
for Children: page 7 WHO/Marcel Crozet; page 8 WHO/PAHO; page 9 UNICEF/C97/B. Press;
page 10 WHO/PAHO; page I 1 WHO/PAHO; page 13 Keskisuomalainen/Ari Haapa-aho; page I 5
WHO/PAHO; page 16 PhotoDisc; page 17 UNICEF/S. Rotner; page 19 ILO/M. Trajtenberg:
page 20 PhotoDisc.

Ageing and Health Programme
World Health Organization
20 Avenue Appia, 1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland
Telephoned 122 791 34 05 Fax: +4122 791 48 39
Email: activeageing@who.ch

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