Providing a comprehensive overview of issues of ageing from a global perspective this ambitious text introduces the reader to a wide range of issues and policies on ageing. Topics examined include: theoretical perspectives on ageing in society; demographic trends; roles played by older people as political actors; migration; health; pensions; family and institutional care; and elder abuse.

This will be an essential text for students of social gerontology, as well as an invaluable resource for students of nursing, social work, social policy and development studies.

People are living into old age. This is actually a revolutionary statement as we look back to the start and then to the end of the twentieth century. This demographic revolution raises important practical and ethical issues and, for the most part, has led the way for the field of gerontology, the study of aging, to emerge as an area of increasing importance. With that in mind, Thorson has revised and expanded his 1995 text to serve as an introduction to the multidisciplinary field of gerontology.
Gerontology is both an area of specialty and an area within the larger arena of social sciences. This text, with its friendly narrative style, assumes no prior knowledge of gerontology, sociology, or psychology and will therefore solidly serve its purpose as an overview of the field. Along with the readable style, the text is well referenced, handsomely illustrated, and thick with helpful features.

The University of Florida has an ambitious goal: to harness the power of its faculty, staff, students, and alumni to solve some of society's most pressing problems and to become a resource for the state of Florida, the nation, and the world. In the upcoming decades, an unprecedented demographic shift will take place; the eighty-five and over population is projected to climb far higher than any other age group. To keep the current elderly population healthy and help prevent future generations from experiencing poor health outcomes, researchers are studying crucial connections between skeletal muscles and whole-body health. The University of Florida is at the forefront of this research, utilizing its nationally recognized excellence in the fields of muscle biology and exercise physiology to discover unique ways to preserve muscle health in the aging and those with diseases. Find out how the proteins within muscle can be manipulated to reduce recovery times for individuals who are bedridden. Learn how older, elite athletes have resisted the inevitable degeneration that comes with aging, and how intermittent fasting may help you live longer and healthier. Step inside the lab where a researcher is uncovering the origins of cancer cachexia a wasting syndrome responsible for 20 percent of cancer deaths worldwide to improve the lives of patients. The loss of skeletal muscle through disease, disuse, or aging is associated with a host of poor health outcomes, but promising new avenues of research are being studied every day at the University of Florida to make for a healthier tomorrow.

Recent research findings on the impact of nutrition on telomere length is unlocking the potential to combat premature aging at the cellular level. We have learned that while aging is a natural cellular process, premature aging is not and it can be positively impacted by an Evidence-Based Proactive Nutrition to Slow Cellular Aging diet plan. This book examines key elements of the biology of cell aging and focuses on enhancing mitochondrial function and preventing abnormal cell turnover thus preserving telomere length. It details the cellular damage caused by free radicals and ROS, explains the salutary effects of antioxidants, and the body's need for adequate nitrates and other nutrient substrates from which the body derives nitric oxide (NO) to support cardiovascular health. This book is the first to feature a simple do-it-yourself test of the effects of the diet on the availability of NO for - heart health. The book guides the reader through the rationale for a modified Mediterranean style diet that supplies the body with an adequate daily intake of essential nutrients, simple high antioxidants, and other functional foods. It includes simple, easy to prepare appealing recipes promoting a seamless transition to a healthy, age-defying lifestyle.

Although books exist on the evolution of aging, this is the first book written from the perspective of again as an adaptive program. It offers an insight into the implications of research on aging genetics, The author proposes the Demographic Theory of Senescence, whereby aging has been affirmatively selected because it levels the death rate over time helping stabilize population dynamics and prevent extinctions.

When confronted with a neurological or psychiatric disorder in an elderly individual, a clinician or researcher is likely to ask how the processes of ageing have influenced the aetiology and presentation of the disorder, and will impact on its efficient management. There are many urban myths about ageing, and some of these apply to the brain. The reviews included in this book are an attempt to flush out some of these myths, and arm the clinician and general researcher with the empirical facts that can be mustered to substantiate claims about ageing. There are many salient questions: is cognitive change to be expected in an elderly individual? Is this change progressive, relentless and unselective, or is it focal and constrained? Would every person who lived long enough develop Alzheimer s disease? Do our neurones die as we get old? What happens to the size of the brain and its metabolic activity? How do our hormones change with age? Can anti-oxidants slow or even stop the process of ageing? Are genes important in the ageing brain or is it all in the environment? How much of what we are is due to what we eat? The contributors to this book, each an expert in their field, have addressed some of these questions in a language simple enough for a general reader to understand.

The book also deals with some of the most prominent brain disorders of old age - Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, vascular dementia, and depression. The focus is on the impact of ageing on these disorders. The discussions lay out a broad map for the clinician dealing with neuropsychiatric disorders, and the future researcher of brain ageing. In a field in which the developments are too numerous for any one individual to keep pace with, this book presents up-to-date summaries that can be a useful starting point. The field of brain ageing abounds in tabloid science. This book counters this by providing a strong empirical grounding and considered synthesis of the research."

The past century has witnessed a revolution. Less than a hundred years ago, the average Western life expectancy was 40; now it is 80. And there is no end in sight: the first person who will reach 135 has already been born. It's the most radical change in our society since industrialisation, and naturally it raises many questions. What do longer life spans mean for the way we organise our societies? How can people best prepare themselves for living considerably longer? Does it help to eat less, or to take hormones, vitamins, or minerals? And what can we learn from old people who remain full of vitality, despite illness and infirmity? Growing Older without Feeling Old is the definitive book on a key issue for the 21st century, written by one of the world's leading experts in geriatric medicine. Combining medical, biological, economic, and sociological insights, Rudi Westendorp explores the causes of the ageing revolution and explains how we can greet it with confidence and enjoy leading longer, healthier, and more productive lives than ever before.