Being "old" today just isn't the same. As they say, today's 60 is the new 40. You're living a longer, higher quality,more productive, and independent life.

There are many reasons why aging today is easier, gentler, and less obvious than it was 30 or 50 years ago. Improved medical care and disease prevention efforts have contributed to an increased life expectancy.

What is healthy aging?

• It is exercising regularly because physical activity helps prevent or control many health problems such as high blood pressure, obesity, and diabetes.
• It means eating five or more fruits and vegetables daily. Diets rich in fruits and vegetables may reduce the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease and provide necessary vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
• It means maintaining a healthy body weight. Obesity is a risk factor for many chronic diseases including four of the top 10—coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, and several forms of cancer. Obesity can also aggravate arthritis.
• It means not smoking. Postmenopausal women who smoke have lower bone density and an increased risk of hip fracture than women who don't. Not smoking decreases the risk of heart attacks and increases your lung function.
• It means getting vaccinations appropriate for your age. Get an annual flu shot, and get the vaccinations for shingles, pneumonia, Hepatitis A and B, tetanus-diphtheria-pertussis, and measles-mumps-rubella.

Aging will always be a health challenge, says Britt Marcussen, MD, UI Family Care physician. "Using the knowledge and awareness available today, your chances of leading a healthier, longer life improve the more involved you get in your healthy aging choices."

Can you see, hear, or feel aging?

Some of the first signs of aging are ones that have the largest lifestyle impact.

Vision
You notice your arms aren't quite long enough when you want to read something and things that used to be crisp are now just a little fuzzy. Actually, your eyes may start changing when you're in your 30s. As you get older, your pupils become less responsive to light. By the time you're in your 60s, your pupils will be one-third the size they were when you were 20. Your eyes may feel drier because you don't make as many tears. Your peripheral vision declines. You may have trouble with glare when you drive at night, which might be an indication of a cataract. You may see harmless ‘floaters' drifting across your vision, but if they increase in number, see your physician—it might be a sign of a detached retina.

Hearing
You find yourself going "Huh?" when people are talking or wondering why someone sounds like they're talking underwater. Actually, they aren't, but your hearing has changed as you've aged. More than a third of people over the age of 65 experience significant hearing loss, and more than half of those over 75 have hearing loss. Your ear drums thicken and the tiny hairs that line the cochlea, which sense sound waves and transform them into signals to the brain, can become damaged and result in problems hearing high frequencies, especially if there is background noise. And once damaged, they are lost forever.

Feeling
Do you look in the mirror and wonder where all that skin around your eyes and neck came from? Wrinkles and sagging skin are part of aging. The skin's outer layer—epidermis—thins, and the pigment-containing cells decrease in size and your skin takes on a paler, thinner look. Age, or liver, spots may appear. As the skin's connective tissue loses strength and elasticity, it can feel leathery, and because your skin produces less oil, it feels drier as well. Warts and other growths are more common on aging skin.