I Am 70. Am I Old?

I was involved in a discussion at the gym last week when somehow the topic turned to age. I had no problem mentioning the fact that I was 70, well, almost 71 actually. I am not sure how I feel from the reaction-
”I did not think you were that old” were the carefully selected words from my gym mate.

I said thank you as if in some way it was a compliment. However my mind focussed on the words ”that old”.

Is 70 …that old?
I am not even sure that I am old let alone “that old”, as if I have reached a special place of old.

At what age do we become old?

I explored this question at great lengths in my book, appropriately named for this conversation -
Are We Old Yet? A casual conversation about aging.

After three years of research on aging, I have concluded the following answer to the question
at what age are we old?

The answer…it depends.
It depends on who you ask, when you ask, in what country, whether it is biological or chronological, and why do you want to know.

As it turns out, there is no clear consensus on what age is old, although there are many opinions (clearly my gym mate had an opinion).

Recently gerontologists have decided to subgroup definitions of old, just to add a little confusion to the topic. And to still be clear, not all agree. The categories are as follows

• Young old 60-69

• Middle old 70-79

• Very old 80-89

• Super old 90+

Notice there is no category called “that old”. Oh, and I do want to be Super old one day.

There is a solution - an answer to the question. If you have read my book, you know the answer (pages 22 and 275).

I really like the answer.

Enjoy your day,

Just a little extra-

I recently received the results from the test for my biological age. According to the extensive blood work my biological age is 61.
We should talk about biological age in the future. A very hot topic in the aging community.

Apparently I may not be…”that old”, even if I am 70.

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References

Cole, Garry. February 2024. Are We Old Yet? (Yes, I used my book as a reference)