Even by the most optimistic studies I am now considered old. Living Longer and Healthier Lives

Living Longer and Healthier Lives Gauging old age by life expectancy

A new standard is being suggested by academics at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in Vienna, Austria: using life expectancy as a measurement for “old age” rather than age in years.

Over 50 years ago, people only expected to live to maybe 80 years of age. However, the baby boomers have life expectancies that extend far beyond retirement. Data from the Office for National Statistics suggests that most retirees will be drawing on their pensions for approximately 24 years. That is 50 percent longer than their parent’s generation.

Researchers are suggesting that old age should begin when someone has 15 or less expected years of life remaining, which puts today’s baby boomers at middle age until they reach 74.

“What we think of as old has changed over time, and it will need to continue changing in the future as people live longer, healthier lives. 200 years ago, a 60-year-old would be a very old person. Someone who is 60 years old today, I would argue is middle aged,” stated Sergei Scherbov, World Population Program Deputy Director at IIASA.

Projecting populations

The IIASA researchers applied their new aging measures to European population projections through 2025. These types of projections are used by governments to determine expectations for increased disability, decreased labor force participation, and dependence.

It has been recommended by British Chancellor George Osborne to raise the age for pensions to 68 in the mid-2030s, instead of holding off until 2046, as was originally planned. The researchers argue that 65-year-olds in today’s world are in better health and not as dependent on others compared to past generations. They also argue that they are more mentally agile.

While many agree that old age is beginning later than in previous generations, there is still disparity about the years people can expect to live.

According to Alan Walker, professor of social policy and social gerontology at the University of Sheffield, U.K., “For many people, 70 is the new 50 and signifies the quiet revolution that has taken place in longevity. However, I would not want to pin an arbitrary age, such as 74 because there is such huge diversity in later life. There is a massive nine-year difference in average life expectancy between the poor and the affluent and a shocking 19-year difference in healthy life expectancy.”

Healthy living is very important

According to the Office for National Statistics, the average man retiring in 2012 could expect to live for around 86.2 years. While women who were turning 65 last year could expect to live an additional 23.9 years on the average.

“It is important not just to live longer but to live healthier,” said Professor Peter Ellwood at Cardiff University, U.K. “It should not just be about adding years of life, but adding life to years.”

Professor Ellwood has been conducting a ground-breaking study spanning 35 years, which shows that living a healthy lifestyle significantly reduces the risks of developing diabetes, cancer, stroke, heart attack and dementia.

Explained Ellwood, “We have found that living a healthy lifestyle is better than any pill and have proved that it is possible to be fit and active after the age of 65.”

—The Alternative Daily

—CC—

I have not watched pro-football since it became filled with political garbage. I wasn’t aware until Sunday that the NFL is now playing two national anthems.

The NFL Should Not Be Playing One Anthem for Black Americans and Another for Everyone Else

If you divide the anthem, the purpose of it is defeated. And what good is our national anthem if we cannot unify around it?

In the long-awaited return of NFL football, fans grew silent just before kickoff as players from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Dallas Cowboys lined up in the end zone and interlocked arms.

Then a video of Alicia Keys lit up and she broke into song accompanied by the Florida A&M Concert Choir as they performed what’s been called the black national anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” As the song finished, the commentator called the performance “a reminder of the true brotherhood the National Football League is.”

Shortly after, the U.S. National Anthem played. This pregame ceremony repeated for each game over the weekend, and it will for the rest of the season.

NFL leadership clearly believes two anthems are needed: one for a select group in our country, and the other that represents the country as a whole. While NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell claims the purpose of playing a racially specific anthem is to unify, how can that be when it separates one group from the rest?

Our national anthem stands for unification. It is meant to be shared, just like we share other things in this country to build community: places of worship, our backyard for cookouts, the playground at the park.

If you divide the anthem, its purpose is defeated. And what good is our national anthem if we cannot unify around it?

In many respects, our society loves specialization. In a certain light, this is good.

We can listen to whatever music we want, whenever we want, rather than listen to what radio stations are playing for us. We aren’t at the mercy of TV networks and can stream any show with the click of a few buttons. Rather than deciding on a central restaurant to eat at, family and friends can have their own favorites delivered right to their door. Everything is catered to our specific desires.

But with this, we share less in common today than we did a few generations ago. There are fewer songs we all know, fewer shows we all watch, fewer favorite foods we all share. And the list goes on.

And while to some extent it’s great to have things personalized to our tastes, we need some common culture to share if we wish to survive as a country. There is no better common culture than that of our national anthem.

Instantly after the black anthem was played this weekend, Twitter lit up with tweets about segregation and further divisiveness. Megyn Kelly called for sports to not be political.

Because if we can’t have one singular anthem — something everyone can unite around and share — we will collapse. The more anthems that are introduced, and the more individualism is called for, the more our national anthem’s ability to bring us together erodes.

At what point will we have nothing left?

The point of the “national” anthem is that nobody needs his own. Arguing against the anthem itself is also arguing against the country. And while many cultures in our country can and should have different traditions, there are some things that need to be shared for us to share in this country. For the good of the country, “national anthem” is one of those things.

Nearly every American can identify the tune of the national anthem and understand a reference to the “Star-Spangled Banner.” It’s a simple piece of culture we all learn as kids and should be one of the similarities all Americans have in common.

If the push for social justice and equality is so great, then taking pride in the one piece of culture that still exists, that we can all share, that can unite us all, is exactly what is called for.

No professional football athletes have spoken up about the divisiveness of playing a song specifically played on behalf of one racial group before every game. But they are the best to raise the issue and generate change.

Sports are a place where all can come together under one roof and celebrate some of the greatest athletic plays known to man. Even more so, football is the best place for rival fans — whether it be the Steelers versus the Ravens or the Cowboys versus the Eagles — to come together. In rival games that generate so much tension, fans are still seen bonding and getting along because of the great sport of football.

The classic American sport is one of the greatest mediators of all time, making it the best place to unify with one singular anthem. While celebrating good football, fans both at the game and cheering from their living room can celebrate America and unify by honoring our country with the greatest cultural mediator of all time: the national anthem.

By Reagan Reese

The Federalist

—CC—

Thankfully, the majority of Americans love our country and realize standing for THE National Anthem is an honor. One of my favorite stories this week is from Virginia….

Farmer Stands for National Anthem at High School Football Game, Leaves Crowd Stunned

It was a picture-perfect moment—as golden as a Norman Rockwell painting.

Before a high school football game in Virginia, the national anthem was about to play. In a neighboring field, a lone farmer stands patriotically, respectfully, hand over heart.

Local mom Monica Osborne captured the magical scene on camera late August, as her son readied for his debut performance in the school band. The sight gave her chills.

“As I turned to face the flag, hand over heart, the sight of this young man was almost magical, like something you’d only see in a movie or commercial on TV,” Osborne told The Epoch Times.

“I got very emotional to the point of feeling a lump in my throat and tears filling my eyes,” she added. “I knew it was a special moment immediately.”

The farmer had been mowing his hayfield for nearly an hour but shut off the tractor and mower a few minutes before the anthem. “He was already prepared, standing on the tire, hat in hand over his heart,” Osborne said.

As the band started playing, his show of “morals, and respect” suddenly captivated the crowd—to the point where even the announcer called for a round of applause.

Then, he waved his hat, climbed back in his tractor, and continued working—but not before Osborne snapped the perfect picture. It even had the American flag in it.

On returning home, the mom assumed that somebody else would have already posted the scene on Facebook. But no one had. So she posted her own photo, sharing how the farmer’s patriotic act inspired her.

She captioned: “This gentleman was busy mowing the large hayfield but took the time to stop and stand for our national anthem. True respect…. hard working role model. He was even awarded a round of applause from the crowd following praise from the game announcer. Greatest thing I’ve seen in a long while.

The post went viral, garnering thousands of shares; while her notifications and comments exploded with “praise for the gentleman.”

Through the comments, she soon learned the young man’s name: Alex Couch.

“His younger sister had commented how she was so proud of her brother,” Osborne said. “I have previously transported Alex’s younger siblings on my school bus.”

She said that Alex is a “wonderful role model.”

“Our entire community is proud of Alex,” she added. “We even received praise from the opposing football team fans from the game, which are from North Greene High School in Greenville.”

by Michael Wing

The Epoch Times

—CC—

After reading this story, Ronnie Hanson wrote, “What I would like to see is this farmer’s picture honoring our flag and some overpaid, undereducated athlete, kneeling in front of our flag with the following caption:

America Love it or Leave it!”

The sad thing about this story is that it has received so much publicity. This is what every American SHOULD do. Show respect for our flag and National Anthem.

I can assure you that I have more respect for one patriot that served this country and defended our flag and National Anthem, than I do all of the politically correct ball players. Those that carry a football in a game mean far less to me than a veteran who carries a rifle into war. The veteran loves this country and sacrifices for it. That is quite a contrast to those that dishonor the greatest country on earth and whose only “sacrifice” is to stand arm in arm with those who “whine” about how bad it is.