Most older people are sharp and fit – so why the growing ageism?

Every so often I feel obliged to write about ageism. The scramble for scarce health resources has led to ageist attitudes becoming more prevalent than ever. Older citizens are blamed for numbers on trolleys, clogged emergency departments, and ever-growing waiting lists.

The new Minister for Health, Simon Harris, has already referred to the "ageing" problem several times in media interviews. A briefing document prepared by his officials noted that four out of 10 people over 50 years of age have one or more chronic diseases which account for 75 per cent of hospital bed days. Why mention age? It is the cumulative effect of health behaviour over the previous 50 years that matters.

The human body is resilient and can take a lot of abuse before succumbing to chronic disease. Anyone who spends 50 years eating a poor diet, taking no exercise, and living in stressful circumstances in an unhealthy environment will develop at least one chronic disease.

Most official health reports are written from an ageist perspective and feed into society’s all-pervasive negative attitudes to older people.

The recently published 2016 Irish Pensioners Handbook, available free from libraries around the country, typifies this ageist approach. The foreword by former minister Kathleen Lynch is almost all about nursing homes, homecare packages, respite care and dementia. Why? Only 4 per cent of older Irish people are in nursing homes and a further 5 per cent receive homecare services. The other 90 per cent live independent adult lives.

The health and fitness chapter advises pensioners to start with 10 minutes of physical activity as if that is all they are capable of. In fairness to the publishers, the food section does not assume that older people can eat only mush. Pensioners have the same nutritional needs as adults aged 30-50. They need the same amount of protein, carbohydrates, fat, vitamins and minerals every day as other adults. The handbook has a number of tasty recipes, including one for Cullen Skink.

Common misconceptions

A report from the

World Health Organisation

(WHO),

Ageing and Life-course

, debunks common misconceptions about ageing. In high income countries, such as Ireland, “there is growing evidence that at around age 70 healthcare expenditure falls significantly”. Some 80 year olds have levels of physical and mental capacity that compare favourably with 20 year olds.

Far from being a burden, research in the UK in 2011 estimated that the contributions older people made through taxation, consumer spending and other economically valuable activities were worth almost £40 billion (€51.3 billion) more than expenditure on them through pensions, welfare and healthcare combined.

A study in the US found no difference in memory performance between 17-24 year olds and 65-75 year olds. The same is probably true for Ireland if anyone bothered to find out.

Contrary to popular belief, older people are not a homogenous group even though they are spoken of collectively by virtually everyone. There is no typical older person. In fact, older people are more diverse than any other demographic group including children and those aged 30-50.

This diversity is not random and, again, contrary to popular belief, “it’s not all about the genes”.

“A large proportion [about 75 per cent] of the diversity in capacity and circumstance observed in older age is the result of the cumulative impact of advantage and disadvantage across people’s lives. The physical and social environments in which we live are powerful influences on healthy ageing,” writes WHO.

Factors such as income, sex, ethnicity, housing, educational attainment and financial resources determine health at 80, not age. People with the lowest incomes have the lowest levels of physical functioning which persists throughout the life-course.

The main difference between pensioners and other adults is time. Retired people, unless they are looking after grandchildren whose parents cannot afford childcare, have more time to travel, pursue hobbies and do their own thing. Why do pensioners’ handbooks emphasise dependency and not liberty?

Since I received my free travel pass – a year ago this week – I have visited Belfast (three times, Lyric theatre and exhibitions), Dublin (five times, meetings, theatres and exhibitions), Cork (three times, various activities), and used local Galway buses many times.

I now have time to be a tourist in my own country. I invariably meet other pensioners doing the same thing. It is brilliant. Free travel means pensioners are net contributors to the economy, not takers.

It’s time to stop ageism. Will this happen? Not in my lifetime if the present trend continues.

drjackyjones@gmail.com

Jacky Jones is a former HSE regional manager of health promotion and a member of the Healthy Ireland Council.