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Aging Well

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Encyclopedia of Gerontology and Population Aging

Synonyms

Active aging; Positive aging or optimal aging; Productive aging; Successful aging

Definition

Aging well or successful aging has been defined as “the ability to maintain low risk of disease-related disability, high mental and physical function, and active engagement with life” (Rowe and Kahn 1998, p. xii). This generally includes a positive attitude and a sense of engagement and purpose with life which were found to be among the most significant factors that contributed to aging well, as well as a desire to stay active and healthy in later life.

Overview

Aging well and successful aging have been used concomitantly in the research literature and are regarded as similar concepts. However, “successful aging” has been more commonly used by older adults to describe the ingredients for “aging well” or “aging positively” (Fernández-Ballesteros et al. 2010). In fact, there have been a variety of terms used to describe older people who are “aging well,” and it is as an umbrella term...

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Correspondence to Maria Adela Balderas-Cejudo .

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Balderas-Cejudo, M.A., Patterson, I., Leeson, G.W. (2020). Aging Well. In: Gu, D., Dupre, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Gerontology and Population Aging. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69892-2_472-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69892-2_472-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-69892-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-69892-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Biomedicine and Life SciencesReference Module Biomedical and Life Sciences

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Aging Well
    Published:
    16 December 2019

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69892-2_472-2

  2. Original

    Aging Well
    Published:
    23 August 2019

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69892-2_472-1