Old age is the range of ages for people nearing and surpassing life expectancy. People who are of old age are also referred to as: old people , elderly , elders , senior citizens , seniors or older adults. Older people often have limited regenerative abilities and are more susceptible to illness and injury than younger adults. They face social problems related to retirement , loneliness , and ageism.
In , the United Nations proposed a human-rights convention to protect old people. The history of old age in the History of Europe has been characterized by several prominent features across the last years: [ 9 ] [ 10 ] [ 11 ] [ 12 ]. Current definitions of old age include official definitions, sub-group definitions, and four dimensions as follows.
Most developed Western countries set the retirement age around the age of 65; this is also generally considered to mark the transition from middle to old age. Reaching this age is commonly a requirement to become eligible for senior social programs.
Old age cannot be universally defined because it is context-sensitive. The United Nations, for example, considers old age to be 60 years or older. Unlike in the developed world, where chronological age determines retirement, societies in developing countries determine old age according to a person's ability to make active contributions to society. Dating back to the Middle Ages and prior, what certain scholars thought of as old age varied depending on the context, but the state of being elderly was often thought as being 60 years of age or older in many respects.
Gerontologists have recognized that people experience very different conditions as they approach old age. In developed countries, many people in their later 60s and 70s frequently called "early old age" are still fit, active, and able to care for themselves. Therefore, rather than lumping together all people who have been defined as old, some gerontologists have recognized the diversity of old age by defining sub-groups.
