"OLD" lady with a beer after biking 36+ miles over 10 PDX bridges!
The 5 most common misconceptions about older people:
1- Older people always get fat
They can get fat – but so can a 3 year old! Do they have to get fat? Of course not. Metabolisms change but the changing of one's eating habits and the increasing of exercise will do wonders about weight.
[I'll let you in on a secret – this works for all ages!]
2- Older people are fragile and hunched over
I hear people say this and I am not sure what they mean by fragile. Do they think bones just break, that older people fall all the time or are so weak they can't move around?
Bones lose density; especially for post-menopausal women but there are ways to help that not happen. Now that we know more about osteoporosis I expect we will see fewer older persons who develop the hunched over position.
As for fragility? Ski areas on Mt. Hood in Oregon offer free skiing for those over 71 or 72 depending on the area. I've met skiers over 80 skiing away there. Fragile? Nope. Maybe the regular skiing keeps them strong?
3- Older people are poor and subsist on social security checks
4- Older people are inactive
5 – Older people are unhealthy
I teach lifespan human development and many in my classes are nurses. A student once said that he never realized that older people could be healthy – his entire experience with persons over 65 was in a hospital. It was an "AHA" moment for him to learn that he [and we] know little about healthy persons as they age – precisely because they are not in hospitals or assisted living homes where studies can easily be done.
Read the full article about these 5 myths and then please come back here to chat about them.
Comment below – thank you muchly
I am 68 years chronologically and VERY active! I have a company about to open a Unique Holistic Centre we will then Franchise. I am creating products and writing for publishing plus planning Transformational Coaching Seminars and Workshops alongside one to one cliets. I practice meditation and Toga and believe in a healthy but commen sense lifestyle. I am neither obese or frail. As Bob proctor would say – Slow Down!! I’m just getting Going!!”
Good for you and thanks for letting us all know that people over 65 are not sitting around in rocking chairs – but are out there building businesses