Active Aging: A Global Goal
1Department of Psychobiology and Health, Autonomous University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
2The New York Academy of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
3National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM), France
4Department of Sociological Studies, The University of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, UK
Active Aging: A Global Goal
Description
Active aging is an umbrella concept embracing a semantic space in which healthy, successful, optimal, or productive aging is strongly related. All these terms are considered as multidisciplinary, multidimensional, and multilevel concepts, and all of them are referring to a positive way of aging or “aging well,” opening a new paradigm in gerontology, based on the compression of morbidity and mortality, the diversity of the ways of aging, and the plasticity of human nature.
Although during the last thirty years cross-sectional, longitudinal, and interventional studies on “aging well” have been published, active aging has been defined for the first time by the WHO in the booklet Active aging. A policy framework, in 2002, and adopted by the United Nation Madrid II International Plan of Action on Aging. Moreover, active aging inspired several national, regional, and international actions, for example, the United Nation Year of Older Persons (1999) and the European Year of Active Aging (2012). In sum, active aging can be considered as a global goal.In spite of the fact that there is a theoretical corpus of knowledge, strong empirical research, and social plans and policies for promoting active aging, more debates and discussions are required in order to make a new step forward on this field.
We invite investigators to contribute with original research articles, including reanalysis of published research, as well as review articles trying to answer these and other relevant questions. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:
- Are active, healthy, successful, and productive aging equivalent (synonymous) or are they referring to different concepts?
- Would different empirical definitions of active aging depending on age (young old versus oldest old), culture, and so forth be required? Or is it possible to arrive to an operational consensus?
- Which will be the best proposed operational definition of active aging with strong empirical support?
- Which are the best predictors/determinants of active aging from a bio-psycho-social perspective? Which are the best intervention/strategies that could promote active aging?
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