The Upside of Aging: How Long Life Is Changing the World of Health, Work, Innovation, Policy and Purpose

The Upside of Aging: How Long Life Is Changing the World of Health, Work, Innovation, Policy and Purpose

by Paul Irving
Released April 2014
Publisher(s): Wiley
ISBN: 9781118692035

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Book description

The Upside of Aging: How Long Life Is Changing the World of Health, Work, Innovation, Policy and Purpose explores a titanic shift that will alter every aspect of human existence, from the jobs we hold to the products we buy to the medical care we receive - an aging revolution underway across America and the world. Moving beyond the stereotypes of dependency and decline that have defined older age, The Upside of Aging reveals the vast opportunity and potential of this aging phenomenon, despite significant policy and societal challenges that must be addressed. The book's chapter authors, all prominent thought-leaders, point to a reinvention and reimagination of our older years that have critical implications for people of all ages.

With a positive call to action, the book illuminates the upside for health and wellness, work and volunteerism, economic growth, innovation and education. The authors, like the baby boom generation itself, posit new ways of thinking about aging, as longevity and declining birthrates put the world on track for a mature population of unprecedented size and significance. Among topics they examine are:

  • The emotional intelligence and qualities of the aging brain that science is uncovering, "senior moments" notwithstanding.

  • The new worlds of genomics, medicine and technology that are revolutionizing health care and wellness.

  • The aging population's massive impact on global markets, with enormous profit potential from an explosion in products and services geared toward mature consumers.

  • New education paradigms to meet the needs and aspirations of older people, and to capitalize on their talents.

  • The benefits that aging workers and entrepreneurs bring to companies, and the crucial role of older people in philanthropy and society.

  • Tools and policies to facilitate financial security for longer and more purposeful lives.

  • Infrastructure and housing changes to create livable cities for all ages, enabling "aging in place" and continuing civic contribution from millions of older adults.

  • The opportunities and potential for intergenerational engagement and collaboration.

    • The Upside of Aging defines a future that differs profoundly from the retirement dreams of our parents and grandparents, one that holds promise and power and bears the stamp of a generation that has changed every stage of life through which it has moved.

    Table of contents

    1. Foreword
      1. The Greatest Achievement in Human History
      2. “What a Drag Thrill It Is Getting Old”
      3. The Long View: Never Underestimate Human Ingenuity
      4. More than Just a Number
    2. Preface
    3. Acknowledgments
    4. Introduction
      1. The Longevity Century
      2. Longevity and Birth Rates
      3. The 65-Plus Group
      4. The Costs of Aging
      5. Mature Workers and Entrepreneurs—Resource for Economic Growth
      6. Mature Consumers—The Emergence of the Longevity Economy
      7. Focus on the Upside
    5. Part One Opportunities and Innovations
      1. Chapter 1 Our Aging Population—It May Just Save Us All
        1. Longevity Is Here to Stay
        2. The Future of Aging Societies
        3. Senior Moments
        4. The Power of the Aging Brain
        5. Motivation, the Aging Brain’s Secret Weapon
        6. Tapping a Rich Resource
        7. Notes
      2. Chapter 2 Personalized Aging: One Size Doesn’t Fit All
        1. Personalizing Medicine
        2. Genomics: Sci-Fi No Longer
        3. Nutrition and Genes
        4. To Diet or Not?
        5. A Field in Its Infancy
        6. Let’s Prove It
        7. To Run or Walk?
        8. Supplemental Jury Out
        9. Looking Good, Feeling Good
        10. Conclusion
        11. Notes
      3. Chapter 3 The Bold New World of Healthy Aging
        1. The Mother of All Confluences
        2. A Data and Diagnosis Revolution
        3. Our New Guardian Angels
        4. A Golden Age of Medicines
        5. The New World of Vaccines
        6. Never Too Old—For Surgery
        7. Is That My Liver on the Printer?
        8. The Wild Card: Tackling Alzheimer’s
        9. We Have Met the Solution, and It Is Us
        10. Eight Days a Week—Only the Start
        11. Notes
      4. Chapter 4 Disruptive Demography: The New Business of Old Age
        1. Demographic Transition and the New Face of Old Age
        2. Mapping New Markets in an Aging Society
        3. Supporting People as They Age
        4. Enabling Independence
        5. New Lifestyles of the Mature Adult
        6. The Boomers’ Social Impact
        7. Conclusion
        8. Notes
      5. Chapter 5 A Longevity Market Emerges
        1. The Age Wave Marketplace
        2. What, Me—Old?
        3. I Am Not My Age
        4. Targeting Self-Perception
        5. Show Them Something New
        6. The New Look of Longevity
        7. Aging and Experiences: Doing, Not Owning
        8. Comfort Matters
        9. The Psychology of Security and Safety
        10. Accommodating the Aging Body
        11. The Age Wave Marketplace: What’s Next?
        12. Fitting the New Form
        13. Notes
      6. Chapter 6 The New Global Economy, through an Aging Lens
        1. Peril or Promise?
        2. Global Strides Toward Aging’s Upside
        3. It’s Just Good Business
        4. Creating Age-Friendly Workplaces
        5. Embracing the Window of Opportunity
        6. Notes
    6. Part Two A Changing Landscape
      1. Chapter 7 Encore: Mapping the Route to Second Acts
        1. Rethinking the Patio Life
        2. A New Stage of Life
        3. A Gap Year for Grown-Ups
        4. Highest Education
        5. Paying for the Encore
        6. The Freedom to Work
        7. Capitalizing on the Upside
        8. Notes
      2. Chapter 8 The Mature Workforce: Profiting from All Abilities
        1. A Shaky Foundation
        2. Revisiting Perceptions and Biases
        3. Deflating Age Discrimination
        4. Laying the Foundation
        5. Reaping the Economic Gains
        6. A Zero-Sum Game or an Intergenerational Win?
        7. A Rejuvenated Workforce
        8. The Space-Program Effect
        9. Notes
      3. Chapter 9 Boomer Philanthropists: A Golden Age of Civil Society
        1. Philanthropy as Leadership
        2. Older and Kinder
        3. A Golden Age of Civil Society
        4. The Rising Role of Women
        5. Philanthropy and Ethnicity
        6. Reinforcing the Golden Age
        7. Conclusion
        8. Notes
      4. Chapter 10 A City for All Ages
        1. Demography and Urban Destiny
        2. Aging in America’s Cities
        3. Aging and the Living Environment
        4. Fostering Independent Urban Lives
        5. Building the City for All Ages
        6. A Strategy for Human Service Needs
        7. Conclusion
        8. Notes
      5. Chapter 11 Aging and Learning: The Future University
        1. Universities in the New World of Aging
        2. The Study of Aging
        3. Back to School
        4. Learning from Older Teachers and Scholars
        5. Conclusion
        6. Notes
    7. Part Three Perspectives and Possibilities
      1. Chapter 12 Aging in a Majority–Minority Nation
        1. The Great Challenge
        2. The Political Tempest
        3. A Journey of Ethnicity and Aging
        4. Boomers and Latinos—Demographic Destiny
        5. A Symbiotic Convergence
        6. The Common Ground
        7. Shifting Political Winds and Alliances
        8. Notes
      2. Chapter 13 Healthy Ageing and Well-Being in Britain and the World
        1. Ageing in Britain
        2. Increased Pressure on a Fragile NHS
        3. Conquering Alzheimer’s Disease
        4. Advancing Age-Friendly Environments
        5. Eliminating Ageism
        6. Conclusion
        7. Notes
      3. Chapter 14 Financial Security: Longevity Changes Everything
        1. The New Retirement
        2. Off Track
        3. A Foundation for Success
        4. The Way Forward
        5. The Final Challenge
        6. Notes
      4. Chapter 15 New Transitions: A Changing Journey of Life and Health
        1. The Life Continuum
        2. Knowing When to Change
        3. Timing a Transition
        4. Health Opens Options
        5. Contemplating Transformation
        6. A New Kind of Sabbatical
        7. Reaching for the Upside
        8. Notes
      5. Chapter 16 Life Reimagined: The Second Aging Revolution
        1. The Changes behind the Change
        2. The First Aging Revolution
        3. Redefining the “Golden Years”
        4. Reimagining Life
        5. What Is Next?
        6. Notes
    8. Epigraph
    9. About the Editor
    10. About the Authors
    11. Index
    12. End User License Agreement

    Product information

    • Title: The Upside of Aging: How Long Life Is Changing the World of Health, Work, Innovation, Policy and Purpose
    • Author(s): Paul Irving
    • Release date: April 2014
    • Publisher(s): Wiley
    • ISBN: 9781118692035