Newcastle University calls for change of attitude towards elderly
Newcastle University today announces the launch of ‘Changing Age’, a major campaign that calls for a fundamental change in the way society thinks about our ageing population, based in large part on scientific advances in understanding the ageing process.
‘Changing Age’ challenges the negative perceptions society has about older people. A major element of the campaign is the Newcastle Charter for Changing Age, which calls upon everyone, the public, organisations and politicians, to support the campaign, in order to create a society in which people of all ages can live their lives to their fullest potential.
Professor Tom Kirkwood, Director of the Institute for Ageing and Health at Newcastle University said: “Too often, public and political debate has focused on population ageing as a negative issue, a ‘burden’ to be managed. The campaign we are launching today seeks to change this, recognising the tremendously positive contributions that an ageing population has on society, and encouraging a profound change in attitudes to ageing, informed by facts and not by outdated misconceptions.”
The ‘Changing Age’ campaign, led by Newcastle University, is fully endorsed by a range of leading organisations and high profile individuals. These include:
- Professor Chris Brink, Vice Chancellor of Newcastle University
- Mrs Olivia Grant OBE, Chairman of Council and Pro-Chancellor of Newcastle University
- Dame Joan Bakewell, Government’s Voice for Older People
- Dr. Miriam Stoppard, broadcaster and writer
- Michelle Mitchell, Charity Director of Age Concern and Help the Aged
- Lord Sutherland, President of Alzheimer Scotland, Action on Dementia and Chair of the English Community Care Association
- Sir Leonard R Fenwick CBE, Chief Executive of Newcastle NHS Foundation Trust
- Peter Arnold, Chief Executive of Newcastle Science City
Michelle Mitchell, Charity Director of Age Concern and Help the Aged said: “We’re delighted to lend our support to a campaign which embraces and celebrates the ageing process. Challenging commonly-held perceptions about getting older plays a vital role in the work we do, and this campaign is an important step in our fight to end age discrimination.”
Dr Miriam Stoppard OBE also pledged her support for the Newcastle Charter for Changing Age and said: “I welcome the opportunity to support a campaign that positively addresses the perceptions of older age. This is an issue that concerns us all, not just those over 60. We all need to ask, how we will provide for ourselves in the future and how much help can we expect. We must address these challenges now to ensure a future where people can look forward to enjoying their old age in comfort.”
Professor Kirkwood added: “The good news is that due to better science and healthcare, life expectancy is dramatically increasing. We need to wake up to a new 29 hour day - research shows that for every 24 hours we live, on average we accrue an additional five hours each day. In other words, UK life expectancy is currently increasing by two or more years every decade. The key issue is how best we make the most of our lengthening lives by improving health and wellbeing.”
To join the growing list of supporters, or for more information go to: ncl.ac.uk/changingage
Ten facts about ageing
1. Life expectancy in most developed countries is increasing by 5 or more hours each day. In many developing countries the rate is even faster as these countries catch up.
2. Human ageing is much more malleable than used to be thought. Factors such as healthy lifestyles, better public health and education all contribute to the fact that on average we now age much better than in the past.
3. There is no biological programme driving our bodies to age. Our bodies are programmed for survival. However in earlier times, when life was much more hazardous, it was a higher priority for our genes to reproduce than to build a body that could last forever. We age and die through the gradual accumulation of damage in our cells and organs.
4. Older people make a large positive contribution to the national economy. There are some costs associated with population ageing but the net effect is strongly positive.
5. Although ageing brings increased vulnerability to disease, many people aged 85 and above rate their quality of life highly and enjoy busy, active lives.
6. Population ageing contributes much less to increasing health costs than is commonly perceived. The most expensive period for health care in each of our lives is our terminal illness, whether we die young or old. Because most people are now old when this cost is incurred, a false impression is often gained that it is population ageing itself that is costly.
7. There is no fixed point at which ageing begins. Indeed, the biological process of ageing begins very early in life, when we are still in the womb.
8. Adherence to healthy nutritional patterns, such as the so-called Mediterranean diet, results in longer, healthier lives.
9. Longevity does run in families but the contribution from our genes is only a quarter of what determines length of life. The genes responsible for above-average longevity include genes influencing body maintenance.
10. The biological mechanisms responsible for ageing are complex but beginning to be understood. This knowledge will help medical scientists better to understand the many age-related diseases for which age is the single strongest cause. In time this knowledge will lead to new ways to prevent and treat these diseases, possibly by acting on the ageing process itself.