This seems a good topic for this group!

Makes a difference to uh . . . mortality. But I think we all know that, really.

JAMA Network | JAMA Internal Medicine | Feeling Old vs Being Old: *Associations Between Self-perceived Age and Mortality

Too bad we can't see the whole article for free, but the first page pretty much tells the story. I subscribe, so I've read the whole thing.

How old do you feel compared to your calendar age?

About 35. I have been telling people for years and recently I went in for the whole medical workup and everything is just as it was 35 years ago. I have about 6% more bodyfat than I would like, but it is well below average for a 62 year old and acceptable for a 30 year old. Just a dirty old man trapped in a 30 year old's body. Tomorrow will be some moderate weather, I'll go out and do a metric for a kick.

Marc

I'm only 15 years old! Of course that's in base 59.

Charlie

Today I feel about 80 though in my fifties.I still think like I'm nineteen though and am trying to live up to my own self image.This I think is healthy as long as I don't drink,stay up late,eat spicy food or do heroic acts of strength. I also try to keep a good sense of humor.

I live by this factor. I have always had an energetic perception of the world and used my body to vigorously pursue many of the engaging activities this life offers. I'm not a fitness freak, but I've always tracked to the upper percentages of activity relative to my age. And I suppose most of the folks on this forum are this way too. The other day I was thinking about how healthy I am and then I laughed because I am: 66, Type 1 diabetic (since age 57, go figure), arthritis in hands that flares up periodically, lose of cartilage in wrists making shooting a ******* stronger than a .22 painful, Wear two hearing aids (lifelong nerve deafness that just progressed as I got older), wear trifocals, missing as many teeth as I have left...but none of that matters. I work as the senior copywriter in a young company and I'm always coming up with fresh and original ideas. I can easily ride 50 miles on my road bike, or climb the hills around the city on my 44 x16 single speed and commute to work daily. I climb mountains on a mountain bike and love the steep approaches, because you elevate your view faster. And I do all this, not to get into shape or "be healthy" but because I am passionate about investing my spirit into this life. I would only add that working the "creative" muscle is well advised in senior years, but don't wait that long to start. All material things pass, but art last longer.

Interesting concept. I'm 67, feel 30's. And that's only because I was in better shape in my 30's than my 20's.

I'm 60 and have the body of a Greek god. But he wants it back...

SP
OC, OR

At my age that could be a number of things.

The word your thinking about was banned due to some contention on the subject.

Hopefully from the shoulder and while not on a bike!

I've been riding 16 months now and got my start seeking encouragement here. On my second bike, a Fuji and have had two fittings. The second was with a highly regarded pro rather than the duty store fitter and it made a world of difference. With no knee problems I'm just under 6000 miles and loving it. I'm 72 and, cardiovascularly, better than I've ever been in my life, including four year at the Naval Academy. Cycling has changed my life.

Rich

I look old. Older than I want to feel, older than I act. Now I look like the creepy old guy because I don't act as old as I look. Pretty old story. Sorry.

I took one of those on-line survey things on this subject and it calculated that I was 47. Since I was 64 when I completed that survey I was pretty happy with 47. The other side of the coin, of course, is that those surveys are pretty worthless!

Big picture, I don't worry about it. I don't have any major physical problems and the minor ones (asthma, very near-sighted, some lower back pain) aren't too tough to deal with. Hope to keep on riding for quite a few more years!

Rick / OCRR

Get off my lawn!!!

I'm 67 and recently took one of those surveys, and it told me my health/fitness age was 45.

What a load of rubbish! 21 years ago I was a hell of a lot fitter/healthier than I am now. I have more aches and pains, more visits to the doc, am slower and less strong, take longer to heal after falls, but am not on any regular medicines other than an asthma inhaler.

I am older and often, but not always, feel older, and I am still more likely than not to pop my clogs in the next 20 years but the good thing is I still enjoy life, and worrying about ageing is just going to bring forward that day.

Christmas greetings from Wales

nicely written

Granted some have physical problems that kind of render them old. But some of us, Im 76, are ticking right along. I have never been in a hospital or had an operation. With a some minor exceptions I dont feel much different than I did 25 years ago. I normally ride somewhere between 2 and 3 thousand miles a year, which does not include the 4 or so coldest months of the year. As I have stated in other threads on this forum, I contribute my good health to the fact I stay active, and mainly because I bike. I fully believe it is what keeps me young. I also believe if you set you rust.

An alternative view of the topic:

These kinds of studies are based on a premise that I believe is somewhat faulty and ageist in nature. There is a difference between functional ability, perceived health, and pain or discomfort related to illness/disease and getting old. To equate these with age or that of feeling healthy with youth is a faulty presupposition. Yet, many still persist in holding this as an acceptable truth. Too often these subtle beliefs manifest themselves in negative attitudes toward aging. I try to live by the thought that I am not who I was yesterday or who I will be tomorrow. On any given day I may have more or less of a given ability. I may feel more or less pain and discomfort. Age is not the way I choose to define this phenomenon.

WebMD has an article about the JAMA study: Feel Younger Than Your Age? It May Help You Live Longer ? WebMD

Here's an excerpt:

"Optimism in many ways is a self-fulfilling prophecy," he said. "If you feel your life and your health is largely under your control, and you believe you are capable of doing things like managing stress, eating right and exercising, then you are more likely to do those things."

It would seem that in many cases, happy, or at least optimistic, translates to healthy. Of course, no one gets a guarantee.

Well, I just want to ride with the big guns. This is what I am shooting for in 2015. Want to stay on target so that age doesn't recoil on me. I aim to keep the powder dry and reload as much as possible.

Every once in a while someone does a "study" like this. Mainly, I think because their professional career is enhanced by publishing. Most of them, including this one, aren't very applicable to the real world. Yes indeed a positive attitude makes a difference. It is a lot easier to have a positive attitude if you have the right genes. As has been pointed out there is often a significant difference between Life and Healthy Life. At its' extreme there is a saying in EMS that with drugs and electricity a rock can be made to have a heartbeat and be "alive". A bit overstated but makes the point.

We all know people who are in those facilities that, by any name, are functionally warehouses for the dying. The contents of these facilities often seem happy. That is a testimony to the ability of the human mind to adapt and make the best of a situation. In many ways no different than the Black Humor of people in jobs where they have to deal with gross things.

Personally, I have always had a saying that is appropriate here: "Don't build a box around yourself and you won't have to learn to think outside it". In many ways people who "think young" are not thinking young as much as they are thinking outside the society imposed box.

I hate to be a downer, but maybe the people don't feel as old as their chronological age because they have fewer ailments, and because of that they live longer? Cart before the horse in other words.

"The effect held even after researchers accounted for things that might make a person feel older than they are [emphasis mine], such as chronic health problems, difficulty with mobility or mental health issues like depression, said senior study author Andrew Steptoe, director of the Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care at University College London."

-mr. bill

OK but did they account for things that make a person feel younger than their years?

When I turned 50 I wished I felt like I did when I was 40. When I turned 60 I was thinking I wished I felt like I did when I was 50. I realized I better start enjoying feeling like I do now because it's better than how I will feel later. The old adage, use it or lose it are words to live by.

This is a great thread, let's please keep the comments on topic: "Feeling Old vs. Being Old".

Thank you,

trac