Ageing With Attitude: Go with Gray and still feel young at 70

Old people’s bodies aren’t more susceptible to disease argues a new book. It’s just the longer you live the more likely you are to pick something up along the way writes Margaret Jennings.

SINGER Debbie Harry made the headlines on July 1 and actress Helen Mirren will be joining her in nine days’ time — both the latest poster ‘girls’ to reach their 70th birthday, still doing what they do with incredible vitality — and looking good in the process.

As we live longer in the western world, gerontologists are taking a new look at how we categorise growing old, with some studies defining the process by three sub-groups of approximate age groups: ‘young old’ 65-74; ‘old’ 74-84, and ‘old-old’ 85 plus.