Growing Is Not Aging- A Reflection on Modern Gerontological Theories
Luigui Vidal Rivas*
Director General of the "Information Center of the Elderly", Rafam Peru Press Coordinator, South America
Submission: September 15, 2017; Published: September 18, 2017
*Corresponding author: Luigui Vidal Rivas, Director General of the “Information Center of the Elderly”, Rafam Peru Press Coordinator, South America, Email: adultosmayoresperu@gmail.com
How to cite this article: Luigui V R. Growing Is Not Aging- A Reflection on Modern Gerontological Theories. OAJ Gerontol & Geriatric Med. 2017; 2(3): 555590 DOI: 10.19080/OAJGGM.2017.02.555590
Letter to Editor
Gerontology as a science, as a discipline, is booming, further boosted by the significant population aging that occurs worldwide, this has also brought about the increase in research and even university undergraduate degrees in several countries, including the Peru. To this we add that postgraduate gerontological studies multiply attracting many multidisciplinary professionals, psychologists, lawyers, journalists and various health professionals among many interested in human aging and the elderly. And theories about the time when we start to grow old, coming to say that we grow old from birth, would have to say under what scientific support, we can equate growth and development as aging, because if we continue in that current we can say that we age from the moment of conception.
In what we all agree is that aging is a gradual process, beginning much earlier than the age when it is usually spoken of older adults, it is evident the aging in a man over 30 years, tangible proof and very popular is the decline in performance in sports, hair loss. graying, metabolic changes that make it more difficult to control weight, then the need to wear lenses such as the appearance of presbyopia, typical after 40 years. Although it is difficult to establish the exact point at which people reach the maximum of their physical growth and development, everything indicates that we reach a peak, and from there we begin slowly to decline physically, we can establish that we begin to grow old when we stop growing.
However, sports, physical activity, and good health can delay aging and boost muscle growth, for example, by building resistance exercises. If we agree that we grow old when we stop growing, we must refer to the heterogeneity of aging, the different way we grow older, as we can often verify organs of one person older than another, are more healthy and robust, we could say more “juveniles” and it is for the lifestyle that it takes. So far we are talking about a physiological basis, but it is necessary to address psychological aging and it is here when we refer to an “inner”, mental growth, and where it is crucial to maintain the capacity to learn and attitude before life, and in this ground is where notorious differences are shown.
The young person is characterized by a mental attitude towards goals and achievements in the study, at work, it is important that the elderly and the elderly continue to learn new things, have expectations and hopes in life, seek always reach goals and have the desire to experience something new, without leaving aside their cultural background, their legacy. A healthy physical and mental life slows down aging and strengthens our abilities, strengthens us, is the foundation of a successful aging, with more strengths than weaknesses. Growing mentally, spiritually does not let us grow old, keeps us young even though we are physically no longer the same, we must continue to grow, with physical activity, good nutrition and social and intellectual life. We age when we only live with memories and there is no hope, we grow old when we are pessimistic, we grow old when we stop growing.