Biological Changes
Aging can be a visible, public experience. Canes, scooters, and other necessities are recognized signs of aging. Because of the meanings that culture assigns to these changes, people believe that being older means being in physical decline. Many older people, however, remain healthy, active, and happy.
Each person experiences age-related changes based on many factors. Biological factors, such as molecular and cellular changes, are called primary aging, while aging that occurs due to controllable factors, such as lack of physical exercise and poor diet, is called secondary aging
Most people begin to see signs of aging after fifty years old, when they notice the physical markers of age. Skin becomes thinner, drier, and less elastic. Wrinkles form. Hair begins to thin and gray. Men prone to balding start losing hair. The difficulty or relative ease with which people adapt to these changes is dependent in part on the meaning given to aging by their particular culture. A culture that values youthfulness and beauty above all else leads to a negative perception of growing old. Conversely, a culture that reveres the elderly for their life experience and wisdom contributes to a more positive perception of what it means to grow old.
The effects of aging can feel daunting, and sometimes the fear of physical changes (like declining energy, food sensitivity, and loss of hearing and vision) is more challenging to deal with than the changes themselves. The way people perceive physical aging is largely dependent on how they were socialized. If people can accept the changes in their bodies as a natural process of aging, the changes will not seem as frightening.
