Problems specific to the postreproductive stage of human life in the aging society

• Autorzy: Togawa T.
• Języki publikacji: EN

Abstrakty

EN

The average human life span has significantly increased in majority of developed countries since the latter half of the last century. As a consequence, people can expect to enjoy life for longer than before. However, many problems have emerged in aging societies, making later life more difficult. It is obvious that an aging population causes economic problems such as the difficulty of maintaining pension and medical insurance systems. While such problems are serious and will not be solved easily, more serious and essential problems have emerged because of the changes in social and cultural environments of elderly people. The elderly are now so common that they are not as respected as they once were in former days. They no longer carry the social prestige of wise leaders. Lifestyle changes are occurring so rapidly that the elderly cannot effectively utilize their own experiences, and they experience difficulties adapting to the latest way of life. Cultural maturity, by which the elderly can comfortably spend their later life, might be expected. However, the decline of physical function in the postreproductive stage of life due to aging seriously restricts their activities. In this paper, problems that have emerged in the postreproductive stage of human life in an aging society are discussed from biological and cultural points of view.

Słowa kluczowe

EN

aging society; postreproductive stage; culture; coevolution; prestige of the elderly

PL

starzenie się społeczeństwa; kultura; wiek starszy

• Wydawca: Nałęcz Institute of Biocybernetics and Biomedical Engineering of the Polish Academy of Sciences ; Elsevier
• Czasopismo: Biocybernetics and Biomedical Engineering
• Rocznik: 2007
• Tom: Vol. 27, no. 1-2
• Strony: 15--25
• Opis fizyczny: Bibliogr. 9 poz., wykr.

Twórcy

autor

Togawa T.

• School of Human Sciences, Waseda University, 2-579-15 Mikajima, Tokorozawa, Saitama 359-1192, Japan,

Bibliografia

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