To be surprised that 65+ is deemed ‘elderly’

I get adverts for cremations.

Im 59

@Helfs @garlictwist

Is it true that most 65 year olds are working?

I mean, I don’t know, but I would have thought the majority were not working tbh.

Also, I know of many people who are old, but working. They are not mutually exclusive.

How can 65 be elderly when most people are still working at that age?

I am 63. I cannot draw my old age pension, nor am I able to get a bus pass. I can however, have free eye tests and prescriptions. So, in societal terms I am at that junction between being middle aged and elderly.

I know there are some complex semantic differences between the terms 'elderly' and 'old', but I have always assumed 'elderly' preceded 'old'. My mother is 95 for example. She is definitely 'old' not 'elderly'.

I don’t understand your thought process at all. On one hand,you believe so strong that 65 is not elderly that you’ve started a thread about it.

On the other hand you have proposed a definition which puts 55 year olds in the same category as 80 year olds, which is ludicrous.

I also interpret the term “middle aged” to mean more like the middle of adulthood, rather than the exact midpoint of your whole life. Eg the middle third of your life between 20 and 80 would be 40-60 years old.

Personally, I wouldn’t call someone middle aged until they were about 45. I’d say elderly was over 70, although I know a lot of very fit and young-looking over-70s!

I wouldn't say old at 55. Elderly isn't an age in my view, more a state - if frail then yes, I would say elderly. I know a sprightly 100 year old who the term elderly doesn't fit, in my eyes.

FFS.

I'm 70 and fitter than most 40 year olds.

Look after your health and fitness.

Of course, life can throw you a curveball at any time, but looking after yourself is almost always likely to improve the outcome.

My FIL will be 77 this year and still works full time in a physical job.

I work with older adults and some people are already elderly in their late 50s and early 60s and some 80-90 year olds are still carrying on like they are in their 40s.

Age really is just a number

65 plus is elderly

@VanillaFrosted has shared the frailty definitions I was going to share. Frailty is what makes someone elderly not just age.

When talking about population health broadly, 65 is when old age begins. 75 is elderly but the critical factor is frailty. How many long term conditions you have, how mobile you are, your social isolation and your socioeconomic status are all just as important. If you live in a deprived part of the country then you’re so much more likely to be come ill and frail at an early age than those living in affluent area.

45-60 or 55 plus are NOT OLD!

I'm 52 and there's no way I'm old !

70 plus, depending on the condition of the person, is definitely elderly.

I’ve just buried an elderly 78yo who’d been struggling for years. MIL died at 77yo, definitely elderly. Even living to 80+ isn’t the norm in my family. FIL managed 81. Very elderly and terribly struggling, then died.

I work in a hospital in emergency care, there is a frailty unit which is 65+.......my colleagues thought it was hilarious when I passed that milestone but then a lot of them are young enough to be my grandkids🥰 I am actually older than some of my patients. It's very subjective, I've seen people I would consider elderly in their 50s (or they act it) and people that still seem young and full of life in their 90s!!

I think your views are relative to how old you are. I'm early 30s and would describe 18-22 year olds as young adults, 22-35 adults, 35-45 as middle aged (as in a few years either side of half the life expectancy), 45-60 as old, 60+ as elderly. I'm sure the closer I get to 60, the further I'll move the 'elderly' marker

I agree with Janeways Bun.
Middle aged is ten years older than me. I've believed that since I was thirty and I still think that in my late 50's! Is it an attitude of mind, as well as health as pp have said?

70 plus is elderly. 60s is old. 40-50 middle aged

I’ll be 66 in a few weeks and I’m far from old despite a round of the kitchen with cancer 3 plus years ago and a knee replacement 1 year ago. If I had to label my stage of life I’d say middle aged. I have a very full life and a sest for living and I do way more than people years younger than me.

Old my backside.

My mum is 66, I don’t think she’s elderly 😂

My grandparents died when they were 80 and were definitely elderly by then. So I would say 65 is about right

This.
When I turned 70 I acknowledged that I was now on the downward slope so needed to get my affairs in order/do bucket list travel etc. BUT I'm not "elderly" because I have maintained good posture from decades of Pilates, attend cardio and strength gym classes, swim etc and keep current with technology, news, pop music, fashion etc. I would say that I'm old but not yet elderly. This would change in an instant if I had an accident/illness which left me physically/mentally incapacitated.

It’s actually in some health and social care definitions. An ‘older person’ is anyone 65 years plus.