Surprisingly, a recent AARP/Interloq study of people ages 50 to 79 found that as people age, they feel better about both their physical and mental health. Of those surveyed in the 50-59 year old age group that rated their health as good, very good or excellent, the results were 71% in physical health and 79% for mental health. This rose to 77% and 88%, respectively, for those in the 60-69 year old group and up to 81% and 94% for those in the 70-79 age bracket. “As people get older, their attitudes about aging become more positive because they realize, ‘It’s not as bad as I thought it would be,†said Manfred Diehl, a researcher in the psychology and attitudes about aging as a professor at Colorado State University. The biggest fear of those in the survey was losing their mental or physical faculties, becoming a burden to their families and having to give up their independence. Ironically, most people were more concerned about physical discomfort than life-threatening diseases. High on the list of concerns was weight gain, joint pain, loss of mobility and high blood pressure.
