Why do older adults resent ageism?

Many older adults tend to internalize the negative stereotypes of ageism that continue to be perpetuated throughout society today and tend to confine themselves to age-related stereotypes, becoming weak, unhealthy, and even less able to accept new learning opportunities ( Streb et al., 2008 ).

How does ageing affect human health?

Human ageing is associated with high susceptibility to disease. Some aspects of ageing can be studied directly in humans and have revealed that ageing is influenced by many factors, including genetics, lifestyle, sex and socio-economic status.

Can ageing be cured?

Reading research by scientists trying to unravel the mysteries of ageing can make it hard to feel good about growing older. The idea of “curing” ageing casts it as pathology. Published studies start, relentlessly, with bad news. “Ageing is a degenerative process that leads to tissue dysfunction and death,” begins a typical paper.

Is ageing a biological phenomenon?

Ageing is a seemingly universal biological phenomenon; yet, it is surprisingly difficult to define. In essence, ageing is a term used to describe a correlated set of declines in functioning with advancing chronological age, which generally begins after sexual maturity 1, 2.