The Myths and The Realities of Aging. Part 1
An Introduction
Note: Click here for part 2. Perceptions of the Aged
While it’s a debatable point, many believe that life and therefore aging begins at the moment of conception. What is not debatable however, is that the aging process continues over a lifetime. Each individual experiences the process in different ways depending on variables such as gender, culture, education geographical location environment and of course the culmination of life’s events and circumstances.
Improvements in public health care, living conditions, income, and the control of infectious diseases during the first half of the 20th century were important factors in determining life expectancy, while the second half yielded an increase in health technology leading to the development of antibiotics and wide spread immunization. As a result, people are now more likely to die of diseases associated with living longer such as stroke or heart disease rather than the infectious diseases of childhood. Read the rest of this entry
