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?

55 "old"???? Come off it!!

Average life expectancy for females is about 83 currently.
I’d say
0-17 childhood
18-30 young adult
31- 48 adult
49-62 middle aged
63-76 older adult
77-83 old
84+ elderly

Medical yes, however many other sources have a different view.

Just like how medically someone is a geriatric mother over 35 but in real life most wouldn’t consider a 36 year old as such.

This thread is about people’s perceptions and opinions.

definitely! Tbh I’d personally consider over 50 old but due to current life expectancy I then do think it’s also just about middle aged

Why do we need to be described as anything other than our age? Given that all my friends lost parents in fairly recent years it seems weird to say someone is old, but they still have parents. I generally don't think of people as fitting into some group according to their age, although when talking about someone as elderly I might use that term for someone 80 and over, I certainly would never use it for someone younger.

Btw I have never in my entire life referred to anyone as middle aged either.

Then you'd have been aware of women's pension ages rising worldwide? It is irrelevant how many are working, when many have no choice but to work at an increasing age.

If you are unsure why the term "old" is offensive - particularly when used by a younger person of anyone over 50 or so - then recall the popular insult of "OK, Boomer" (mis)applied to that broad age group, as a term of derision and disgust.

Fuck off is 55 "old".

(I am 55.)

That kind of description (the reference to age) would be considered completely unacceptable in my workplace and I can guarantee would be called out by multiple people.

You are a geriatric mother post thirty five.
It's biologically optimal to bear children between twenty and thirty five

That doesn't necessitate you being of advanced age in anything other than obstetric terminology, it is however wholly correct.

Wow OP you’d put me and my Mum in the same category. She’s had both her knees replaced, cataract surgery, struggles with mobility, needs an afternoon nap, is quite forgetful, very deaf, rarely leaves the house - pretty normal 80 year old.
I’m 56, I work, I run 20 miles per week, ferry DS to football most days, did Go Ape recently, etc. I’m not doing too badly considering I’m “old”!

I agree society is ageist 💯 but what doesn’t help is people saying “I’m not old because [ insert positive attribute they associate with young people.]”so for example, I’m close to 50. My marathon time is better than the average 20 year old in any marathon major you care to search- most 20 year olds couldn’t run 5k without stopping, never mind a marathon. Does that make me young? No. It makes me a middle aged woman who can still be good at running. So I feel if we’re ever going to get past ageism it isn’t by denying our age. It’s by not ascribing characteristics to older people that may well not be true. However, this is complicated by the fact that ageing in general does confer physical and cognitive decline to some degree and at population level we need to accommodate that. So we need to not generalise but at policy level we kind of do, so I can see why it’s messed up.

I wasn't 20 years ago. 1st and only baby at 40. Apparently according to the midwife no big deal. (I was surprised I must admit).

You will have had the term 'elderly primigravida' on your medical notes.
Although your midwife was right; it's no big deal.

It's an accurate description, I don't use old as an insult.
Same with young - "X is a young woman with blonde hair in room 123" - literally just used as a description so people can locate the right colleague without interrupting an entire room full of people asking if they are X person.

Hmm, I'd probs use 'old' and 'elderly' interchangeably tbh. But perception of age changes as you get older, no doubt. Young people make a big deal about turning 30 but that's still pretty young by all accounts. I, used to think 40 was middle aged (I know it is technically) but now I see 50s as middle aged.

But why do you need to refer to age at all? Completely irrelevant in a workplace, or should be.

We’d just say something like “woman in the corner with the blonde hair and purple top” or “man by the printer with glasses and a blue jumper”. I’m genuinely surprised that anyone would comment on age.

Is there really a difference between old and elderly? I have always perceived elderly as almost a euphemism. The way people say "myself" wrongly when they mean me.

Old is older than elderly. Elderly comes first before old.

Average life expectancy is about 79-81.
Average healthy life expectancy is about 63-64.

Some people live longer and healthier lives than average. Some people reach chronic ill health or die sooner than those averages.

It's easier to notice active people on good form for their age because they're out and about doing more. The people struggling will spend less time out and socialising and in public. People can misjudge age easily too.

The distribution of good health and long life isn't even. MNers are more likely to know people fareing on the better side of average. Cities can have discrepancies of 10 years between their healthiest, wealthiest areas and the most deprived where health issues and premature mortality (u75) are more likely to occur.

At a population level, 65 is a fair waypoint for old age. Statistically chronic conditions become more likely to affect quality of life. Good genes, lifestyle and luck can help people still live in a relatively young way well beyond that point, but age does have biological reality attached to it. At some point the efficiency of the body's system declines and people become more suceptible to health complications and poorer healing. I've had relatives on good form through their 60s and 70s and haven't really been "old" until into their 80s where that natural resiliance has faded for them. I've also lost relatives well before retirement age.

I don't feel middle-aged, but statistically I am roughly halfway through typical life expectancy. While I might do my best to delude myself that I'm still in my 20s, I can't dodge all biological reality. All I can do is keep working on the variables that give better odds of a longer and healthier life because that's good for quality of life.

To me elderly is a state of frailty.
Some people hit elderly / frailty much younger than others.
I know 3 women who are all late 70s two I'd consider elderly (one barely goes out, needs a stick complicated health issues, one in a nursing home, one as active as ever).

I do think by late 60s many have health issues and I think people working full-time in late 60s is a piece of nonsense, far too many just won't have the fitness levels to do it.

It's an accurate description, I don't use old as an insult.

Ooh, why would anyone object to being called "old"...

Style and Beauty is full of women lamenting their "ageing" faces at 39, of women in their early forties seeking tips for injectables and other invasive and sometimes irreversible procedures - all so that they do not (gasp) appear "old".

@silvergarden I am not denying that ageism exists. Or that “old” could be used in a derogatory way or tacked onto other insults. But then so could lots of other age ranges. The same is true for many factual descriptors unrelated to age too - think sex/hair colour/disability terms. They are still factual and can be used appropriately as well.

And yes I am aware of the pension issue. My own mother has been very much affected by this and is still working at 63 with no end in sight because of it.

If most people are offended by the terms “old” and “elderly”, maybe we need a new term. I’d like to know what e.g. a 75 year old who takes issue with old/elderly would describe themselves as. The trouble with this approach is the new term is likely to follow the same cycle and become just as offensive. Doing away with terms about age altogether doesn’t work either as it would be censoring language in an unnatural way and would put older people at odds with other roughly defined age groups that have a collective name.

Anyway, before you make any more baseless assumptions about me, I’m off to bed now 👋

When I was young I thought 65 was old, Now I am getting very close to 65 it no longer seems old. That does not mean I am right though.

@MumblesParty still late middle aged whether you ferry your son to football or not. It’s a descriptive term of your chronological age, again like it or not.
Same with the poster banging on about being fitter than ‘most 40 year olds’ or the one whose mother dyed her hair blond 🙄 People are getting tetchy because of the negative associations about being old, probably grey and mentally slow.

Because we hot desk, and I am usually at home so wouldn't know where they're sat or what they're wearing on any given day (even in the office, I may not have been in their room so wouldn't necessarily know where they were sat or what they were wearing).
Age is an easy identifier, there are two women with grey bobs, one is 50+ and the other is 20ish (dyed grey).
There are several men with beards, two old men with beards, only one of those men wears a full suit to work every day.