Deconstructing 'old': Implications for society and the active-aging industry by Marilynn Larkin, MA

It's no secret that people today are living longer, healthier lives than in any previous generation. From a longevity standpoint, the world was home to nearly half a million centenarians in 2015, more than four times as many as in 1990. Projections suggest there will be 3.7 million centenarians across the globe in 2050. The number of people 80 years and older is projected to increase steadily as well, tripling from 143 million in 2019 to 426 million in 2050. From a health and wellness standpoint-and more to the point for the active-aging industry-that longevity is accompanied by changing expectations not only of what it means to grow older, but what needs and aspirations will change along with these demographics, notes International Council on Active Aging founder/CEO Colin Milner. "We're at a crossroads in the field of aging where our perceptions and reality are finally catching up to what science shows-namely, that we are much more capable than was previously thought," Milner states. We have a new normal, a first step towards deconstructing a concept of aging built on stereotypes of dependency and decline. What it means for the active-aging industry is change."