The old stay young longer

Christiane Fux studied journalism and psychology in Hamburg. The experienced medical editor has been writing magazine articles, news and factual texts on all conceivable health topics since 2001. In addition to her work for, Christiane Fux is also active in prose. Her first crime novel was published in 2012, and she also writes, designs and publishes her own crime plays.

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80 is the new 60? There might even be something to it. Researchers compared the mental and physical fitness of today's seniors with test results from earlier years. They found: Compared to oldies from the 1980s, today's seniors fared significantly better.

To this end, Finnish researchers working with Taina Rantane from the University of Jyväskylä examined two groups of participants: The first cohort consisted of 500 people who were born between 1910 and 1914. The 726 subjects of the second cohort came from the age groups 1938 to 1943. The participants in both groups were tested for their physical and mental performance at the age of 75 and 80 years. The focus was on muscle strength, walking speed, responsiveness and memory.

More speed, firmer grip

A comparison of the results showed that the walking pace in the second group was on average 0.2 to 0.4 m / s faster than in the first. For grip strength, which is an important indicator of health in old age, the results were 5 to 25 percent better. The knee extension strength was even 20 to 47 higher in the later cohorts.

The lungs of the second senior group were also stronger: the lung volume of the participants exceeded that of the earlier seniors by 14 to 21 percent.

Better living conditions improve old age fitness

“Later-born 75- and 80-year-olds grew up in a different world than people born three decades ago,” explains Rantane. Many favorable changes would have contributed to her improved fitness. These included good nutrition and hygiene, improvements in the health and school system, easier access to education and better working conditions.

This means that people are not only getting older, they are actually able to participate actively in life for a longer period of time. This study confirms once again that it pays to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

More healthy years of life

"This study is unique," says Rantane. There are only a few studies worldwide that compare the performance of people of the same age in different historical times.

The results indicated that our understanding of old age was out of date. According to the study, increasing life expectancy does not inevitably lead to an increase in the need for care in old age, but rather to an extension of healthy life. However, the researchers assume that there will be more very old people in the future who are dependent on care.

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