My Mom is 88 and is still alert, drives everywhere and has no plans of slowing down. She lives in an “assisted living ” apartment complex. I would live in these apartments, 3 meals a day served, someone cleans her apartment weekly and they even provide toliet paper. Sounds like a deal to me….
She eats her meals with 5 other people and only 1 is below 80. She is really comfortable, plays ”the word game” every afternoon to keep herself mentally sharp. (The residents make words out of a single word.)
The article below really relays the fact we are just living longer.
WASHINGTON – It’s starting to get crowded in the 100-year-olds’ club. Great Video Lucy talks about….Redefining what it means to be ”old”
Once virtually nonexistent, the world’s population of centenarians is projected to reach nearly 6 million by midcentury. That’s pushing the median age toward 50 in many developed nations and challenging views of what it means to be old and middle-age.
The number of centenarians already has jumped from an estimated few thousand in 1950 to more than 340,000 worldwide today, with the highest concentrations in the U.S. and Japan, according to the latest Census Bureau figures and a report being released Monday by the National Institute on Aging.
Their numbers are projected to grow at more than 20 times the rates of the total population by 2050, making them the fastest growing age segment.
Demographers attribute booming long-livers to decades of medical advances and improved diets, which have reduced heart disease and stroke. Genetics and lifestyle also play a factor. So, too, do doctors who are more willing to aggressively treat the health problems of people once considered too old for such care.
“As long as I’m not mentally and physically infirm, I’d like to live as long as I can,” she said.
Japan, known for its low-fat staple of fish and rice, will have the most centenarians in 2050 — 627,000, or nearly 1 percent of its total population, according to census estimates.
Japan pays special respect to the elderly and has created a thriving industry in robotics — from dogs and nurses to feeding machines — to cater to its rapidly aging population.
Italy, Greece, Monaco and Singapore, aided by their temperate climates, also will have sizable shares of centenarians, most notably among women.
In the U.S., centenarians are expected to increase from 75,000 to more than 600,000 by midcentury. Those primarily are baby boomers hitting the 100-year mark. Their population growth could add to rising government costs for the strained Medicare and Social Security programs.
“The implications are more than considerable, and it depends on whether you’re healthy or sick,” said Dr. Robert N. Butler, president and chief executive of the International Longevity Center, a New York-based nonprofit group specializing in aging. “Healthy centenarians are not a problem, and many are. But if you have a demented, frail centenarian, they can be very expensive.”
Butler predicted a surge in demand in the U.S. for nursing homes, assisted living centers and other special housing, given the wave of aging boomers who will be at increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease. He said federal and state governments may have to reevaluate retirement benefits, age limits on driving and Medicare coverage as they struggle to redefine what it means to be old.
“We don’t have a major coordinating figure such as a White House counselor to reach across all departments, and we need one,” Butler said.
Wan He, a Census Bureau demographer who co-wrote the aging report, said families also will face more pressure. She noted that because of declining birth rates, there will be fewer family members to provide support if an older parent gets sick.
“For the current middle-aged people, it will be comforting to think they can live past 80,” she said. “At the same time, we might see 70-year-old ‘kids’ taking care of their centenarian parents. It’s a very stressful job, it’s not paid, and it can have a lot of psychological influences for the caretakers.
http://babyboomertalkonline.com/2009/100-year-old%e2%80%99s-club%e2%80%a6how-many-boomers-will-live-that-long/
