We’re living longer. For the first time in history, most people can expect to live into their sixties and beyond.

By 2030, 1 in 6 people in the world will be aged 60 years or over. At this time the share of the population aged 60 years and over will increase from 1 billion in 2020 to 1.4 billion. By 2050, the world’s population of people aged 60 years and older will double (2.1 billion). The number of persons aged 80 years or older is expected to triple between 2020 and 2050 to reach 426 million.

Common conditions in older age include hearing loss, cataracts and refractive errors, back and neck pain and osteoarthritis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, depression and dementia. As we get older our odds of contracting multiple conditions at once increases. Healthy aging through diet and exercise are not options available to everyone.

Social and physical environments affect health and provide barriers to good health. Depending on your social environment you may have access to more opportunity, which can lead to healthier lifestyle choices. Increased standard of living increases your access to quality healthcare. This improves your capacity to provide yourself with healthcare and delays care dependency.

Healthy aging requires mental, physical, and social well-being

There is no typical older person. Health conditions vary greatly between individuals. This diversity is not random and occurs because of the inequalities in social and physical environments. This increases the challenge for healthcare professional to provide care without discrimination to older age groups.

The goal is to provide quality care to aging individuals so they may continue to experience important opportunities and contribute to their family and community. Health is the single largest factor for rapidly aging populations to continue to enjoy high quality opportunity. No person, young or older, is expendable. Older people have the same rights to life as everyone else.