To be surprised that 65+ is deemed ‘elderly’

[Helfs]

Off the back of another thread I wanted to see what the actual definition or classification of ‘elderly’ was and I was very surprised to see it defined as 65+

I always thought 80+ as being elderly so this has really surprised me. Especially looking at those I know around the 65-70 mark, they’re fit, healthy, living their best life and do not scream ‘elderly’ if you looked at them.

Personally I’ve always seen it as;
0-1 baby
1-3 toddler
3-13 child
13-19 - teenager
19-25 young adult
25-40 - adult
40-55 - Middle Aged

55-80 - old
80+ - elderly

So do you think this definition is fair on those who are 65, should the definition not evolve as life expectancies rise?

Well quite.

The older i get the higher my idea of "elderly" gets lol

did you forget the comment you originally replied to?

I’m also surprised to see that old is often seen as ‘older’ than elderly

No, but I did misinterpret it - apologies. I thought you were saying 65 wasn't middle aged 😂

Nope

As clearly mentioned another thread inspired me to research the issue and I was surprised by what I found

Its not a thread about a thread

By definition of the word ‘about’

factually though at 1 a baby becomes a toddler

Tbh I think there probably should be another category for 50-65 as middle aged for most isn’t going to be 50+

Does it really matter? You are what you are. I work with 30 year olds whose outlook is older than mine ( and I am I suppose elderly ).

'Old' and 'elderly' are the same thing, surely?

To me, older/elderly would be over about 70/72-ish, am thinking just past retirement age (although that will probably be about 92 come my time to retire!). Over about 85 I would consider 'very old/elderly'.

Pension age was set at 65 as that was life expectancy
-- it was assumed that half of all adults would not live long enough to claim a pension.

For those in physical trades - plumbers, carpenters, bricklayers, plasterers, mechanics - they are BROKEN by age 50 and lucky to be healthy beyond "pension age"

55 to 80 is a huge range to lump together

55 is NOT old though

It matters enough for you to bother replying

@Helfs your nan sounds absolutely epic!

I've a 93 yo mate who drives, drinks, socialises miles away from home, jokes about like a 20yo, seems pretty healthy...so elderly seems to indicate illness to some people. Me included.

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

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.

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

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

Yeah I think I just wrongly assumed elderly had an illness element to it!

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.

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

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?

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 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!!

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.