Contrary to what many people may believe about aging in the United States, recent studies now show that it is not the gloomy and wretched existence it was cut out to be.
For instance, while it was assumed that a significant part of the elderly population aged 65 years and upward live in nursing homes across America, the figures are not as high as it has been thought to be. In reality, only two and a half percent of Americans who are aged 65 years and older are living in nursing homes across the country; that is fact number one. And in the older age group, 80 years and up, the figures are not very significant as well, at only nine percent.
That is not the only surprising thing there is about the figures. Significant data from the United States Census Bureau reveal astonishing insight into the aging population in the U.S. The fact is that more and more people are now living into ripe old age, something which is seen to have a great impact in the way Americans live their day-to-day lives and in the years to come.
As the elderly baby boomer population in America grows---and it will---there will be significant implications on the way older people will live, as well as on how society will deal with the growing population of elderly people and their needs.
It has been estimated that one in four residents living in the U.S. will be aged 65 years and up by the year 2060. By then the total population of those in this age group will grow to almost 24 percent from 15 percent, which is some 98 million in that age group alone. Comparing data, back in the year 2013, only one in seven Americans were at least aged 65 years.
Talking about old age, it is not uncommon to associate it with a debilitating condition called dementia. It is said that while Alzheimer's disease can be quite challenging, it is not representative of the older people's ailments. It is found that a mere ten percent of the population aged 65 years and above, that is, one in ten people, has dementia associated with Alzheimer's disease; this is two. It was pointed out that this figure implies that 90 percent of those in this aforementioned age group do not have dementia.
Some studies have even found that the occurrence of dementia related to aging has somewhat declined in developed countries like the U.S. due to factors relating to rising figures on higher levels of education among the population and better control measures for conditions such as diabetes, hypertension as well as high cholesterol levels.
Dementia rates are falling significantly and is occurring now in much older age groups than 65 years and up. It means that there are more people now worrying about dementia than those who have it.
While many are worried about the significance of large numbers of older people reaching 80 years and above because of the implications of having to care for them, the reality seems less grim. Fifty percent of people in the age group 80 years and up can go about their lives unassisted; this is fact number three. Daily life activities such as getting dressed and cooking are not difficult for these elderly.
There has been a growing fear of older people suffering loneliness and depression as their years progress. However, it was revealed that 25 percent of Americans aged 70 years and up admit to being lonely; this is fact number four. It was revealed that younger people aged 18 to 22 years are more afraid about social isolation than the elderly age group.
And contrary to popular belief, the older population do not pose as a burden economically speaking. Figures show that people over the age of 50 years, making up some 35 percent of the population, contribute $7.4 trillion (43 percent) of the U.S. Gross Domestic Product; this is fact number five.
While older populations have come to be misconstrued as being a burden, these figures reveal that they are more productive than first thought. Old people are being discriminated on when in fact they have been carrying their weight and contributing largely to the economy. The attitude of ageism has brought about the rising costs of health care in the country, reaching as high as $64 billion a year; this is fact number six.
Despite these revelations about the older population and their productive contributions to society, 56 percent of older working people in the U.S. are being displaced from their jobs even before they are ready to retire; this is fact number seven.
So, despite the aging population not actually experiencing debilitating illness in huge numbers, and even though they contribute to 43 percent of the GDP, those of them who have accurate perception of the aging process can still expect to live seven and a half years longer than younger persons who have been negatively steeped in myths and stereotypes.
