How Do We Define Old or Aging?

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There is no single bible marker of aging, so it's not like were trees and you can count the number of rings that you have. So often in our studies, we actually don't define what that age is because people come up with different ages in their images. And i became interested in this topic of how these beliefs impact or health during a trip to japan. I was used to seeing a lot of agism in everyday life whenever i was living in boston. In contrast, what i noticed when i arrived in japan was older people were celebrated in a lot of different ways.

Dr. Becca Levy's research explores psychosocial factors that influence older individuals’ cognitive and physical functioning, as well as their longevity. She is credited with creating a field of study that focuses on how positive and negative age stereotypes, which are assimilated from the culture, can have beneficial and adverse effects, respectively, on the health of older individuals.

Dr. Levy's book, Breaking the Age Code: How Your Beliefs About Aging Determine How Long and Well You Live is available now!

Learn more about Dr. Levy at: https://ysph.yale.edu/profile/becca_levy/.

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