Skip to main content RSS Info Close Search Facebook Twitter
Location
Category
Providers / Vacancies
Feedback

Get a grip on life

Being married and having a strong grip can give men aged in their mid-50s a better chance of surviving into their 80s.

A 40 year study involved 6,000 healthy Japanese Americans who were aged around 54 at the start. The researchers defined exceptional survivors as those who reached the age of 85 in a reasonably healthy state.

The things that made exceptional survivors stand out at 55, were being lean, having lower than average blood pressure, less likely to have ever smoked or drunk too much alcohol, having lower blood sugar and triglyceride levels, having a stronger grip strength which could mean better fitness and more of a physical reserve and higher levels of education. Being married made a difference to overall survival.

A man who fitted this bill at age 55 had a 40% chance of getting to 85 in good shape. If he didn’t match any of these categories in middle age, his chances were less than one percent.

Share this article

Read next

Subscribe

Subscribe to our Talking Aged Care newsletter to get our latest articles, delivered straight to your inbox
  1. Eighty years after getting married, this couple lives together...
  2. Who says your age should limit your dreams?
  3. Data from a recently released report highlights a concerning...
  4. With an ageing and growing population, data from the...
  5. Approximately 411,000 Australians are estimated to be living...
  6. How could you benefit from attending university as an older...

Recent articles

  1. Are there options for older Australians to live in the same...
  2. The new initiative brings older Aussies together to see the...
  3. A collaboration between Dementia Australia and VistaPrint...
  4. How can you look after yourself during the expected heatwaves...
  5. How is an interactive app being used in aged care settings to...
  6. How could the upcoming strengthening of super standards save...
  7. Brother Thomas Oliver Pickett, a Western Australian volunteer,...
  8. Why is an illegal website targeting older Australians?
  9. Eighty years after getting married, this couple lives together...
  10. How does heart health impact your risk of dementia?
  11. Instead of going to the hospital, could older Australians...
  12. Recent data indicates changes in the current COVID-19...
  1. {{ result.posted_at | timeago }}

Sorry, no results were found
Perhaps you misspelled your search query, or need to try using broader search terms.
Please type a topic to search
Some frequently searched topics are "dementia", "elderly" etc
Close