to think that 35 is not middle-aged

[vic77en]

My colleague yesterday referred to someone as middle-aged. When I said they weren't middle aged, were maybe early-mid thirties, he said that 35 was middle-aged.

I guess technically it's half of the "3 score years and 10" but FFS life expectancy for a woman is 80-something, no?

I am 34 and do not feel ready to be middle-aged for at least another 10 years.

So when do you think "middle-age" starts?

I think body shape will define it for me. I meet every few months with friends from school. Each year we congratulate ourselves on looking the same as we have always done. Except last year. Suddenly everyone (bar me - at the time) had suddenly thickened at the waist and looked 'middle aged'. Six months on, I have joined the club. I still fit into my jeans, but what little waist I had has gone for good, despite constant dieting and many trips to the gym.

I had always felt way younger than my years, but once your body decides to dictate otherwise, I think you probably have to wake up the fact that you have lost your fertility and that as a result of hormonal changes, your body shape has changed.

There are upsides too though

PS: my mum skipped middle aged and went straight into old age!

I guess in the old days, when your granny looked 75 but was only 45, middle aged was indeed 35. Also, relates to "three score years and ten" ie age 70 so, 35 would be half way there.

Nowadays, it's different. We look better, have more disposable income, don't beehive our hair into a frazzle and have skin car products that enhance our looks...... I'm 48 and don't consider myself middle aged but it's all about how you feel, I think.

Tell her to bugger off!

wendihouse - it was a him (the fool!)

Your body shape doesn't have to change-I almost gave in and gave my smaller sized clothes away and then I woke up and decided not to let it happen-I really wished that I hadn't given them away! I have a healthy diet and go running and my shape is much improved from when younger.

what age are you mudandmayhem!?

up to 40 is young,to 55 is middle aged,to 70 late middle aged and post 70 errrr elderly

Look guys, this is simple, and middle age doesn't come into it. Here's how it goes:

0 to 10 = childhood. You're a child, so you can do whatever you want and not be held responsible for your actions.

11 to 20 = the teenage years. Raging hormones, you can't possibly be held responsible for your actions.

21 to 30 = your wild years. Sow your wild oats, you can't possibly be held responsible for your actions.

31 to 40 = adulthood. Mortgage, family, commitment, taxes - sorry. you're a grownup now and you will be held responsible for your actions.

40+ = you're an old bat (M/F), going through menopause (or male equivalent) and racing towards senility, you can do whatever you want and can't be held responsible for your actions.

Simples. I'm 43 and loving it.

what about us Dolls...? where do we fit in with it all pointy

Oh, you're just gorgeous and excused from adulthood forever - obviously.

no need for http://www.theculture.net/barbie/barbieweb/thumbnails/barbie-bag.jpg facelifts either then

Absolutely not, I looked at your photos and am very glad I don't give a damn about how I look otherwise I'd be green with .

I do enjoy being a daft old bat though, I can get just about anyone in the office crying with laughter (and am damn good at my job too). There's something very empowering about being hard to embarrass.

Noway is 35 middle age, middle aged for me would be about 45-60

I think I turned into a Grumpy Old Woman quite a while ago - particularly regarding reading mail-order catalogues while eating chocolates, and hiding the box under the sofa cushion when anyone comes in. (thanks to Jenny Eclair et al for telling me who I really am.....)

However now I'm almost the age of Kent in "King Lear", I think I have actually hit middle age. This is because I am absolutely flippin well exhausted all the time, to the point when I get some time off and can't do anything becasue i become exhausted just looking at it. And if I have to get down on the floor to pick anything up or clean, it's suddenly quite a big deal!

When I was a teenager, I probably did think that 35 was middle aged. By the time I was 30, it was 45. A few years later (and the rest) I've realised it's definitely 50+. By the time I'm 50 I'll probably have revised it upwards again.

I am 33. I often think I am living on borrowed time (dissolute in the nineties, respectable only since began teaching at 27). I am middle aged, clearly. Average of 80 does not mean most people live til 80. I accept that if I am lucky enough to have another child, s/he will maybe lose me as a parent when early twenties.

That's normal. It is a new phenomenon that I still have grandparents - in their 90s. (My mum's parents - a doctor and an accountant). My paternal grand parents died in their early 60s, when my dad was 40 ish. Normal.

This fear of middle age is really fear of death, which is obviously scary, but part of life. The very phrase "middle age" is a quantative term meaning "years til you are likely to die". Just live whilst you can, I think.

A wise lady once told me that middle age was 5 years older than she was...........always :)
So that makes it 53 for me.

I think this could become quite an interesting discussion. Obviously, a person can look younger than their years. Obviously, we can enjoy active and fun things for ages and ages. Death is what interests me. It's the elephant in the room, isn't it?

Middle age, really, means half way through. If I died in 33 years I would be 66. Not tragically young. (Positively ancient by Victorian standards!)

So, yes, OP, 35 is AT LEAST middle aged!

In theory I think 35 is far too young to be described as middle-aged, but...I turned 35 last year and for the first time I felt very different after that birthday and have been making and thinking about making lots of changes in my life as a result, so perhaps there is something in it ?

Also, like Lesley I have known a fair few people who have died in their late 30's/early 40's which does put a different perspective on things.

It's clothing-related.

Start buying elasticated waists and you are a dead certain for middle-age.

Meh. My parents are 50 (well my mother was 51 on Tuesday, but she'd kill me for saying it :) ) and still seem quite young to me.

Middle-aged is a state of mind. Will let you know when I get there. I am 58