Active Aging for L.I.F.E.: An Intergenerational Program for Addressing and Changing Attitudes Toward Longevity

Abstract

The global population of adults 65 years of age and older will increase dramatically over the next several decades, presenting economic and social challenges requiring sustainable solutions. Aging is a process in which everyone is already involved, it is a lifelong experience not just a later life occurrence. Changing world demographics illustrate that people are living longer, among the world’s young people, survival to age 80 is expected to be commonplace. This new found “longevity dividend” needs to be maximized and enjoyed. Increased longevity and worldwide aging are constantly in the public view, yet preparing people for this long life has received little attention. People need to be prepared to live a long life in an aging world and one way to achieve this is through aging education. Aging education across the lifespan can prepare people for the long life ahead of them, promote aging with optimism, and combat ageism. This paper reports on the Active Aging for L.I.F.E. four-part education program which was shared with 91 high school students. The program brought the domains of Longevity, Independence, Fitness and Engagement to the high school students through an intergenerational team of older adults and college age students, using an experimental design to test the outcomes in student perceptions of their own longevity in the context of the L.I.F.E. programming. The treatment group findings showed that the students perceptions about aging and longevity were impacted. In addition, written responses reflected the value of the programming through participant understanding of the impact of lifestyle, diet and social interaction on successful aging through the lifespan.