The document discusses physical development in late adulthood. It covers topics like longevity, health issues, and changes in body systems. Life expectancy has increased as centenarians become more common. Physical changes include brain shrinkage, immune system decline, loss of vision and hearing, and decreased mobility. Chronic diseases are prevalent, and exercise/nutrition are important for health. Sensory and motor functions typically deteriorate with age.

1. LIFE-SPAN DEVELOPMENT
Sixteenth Edition
Chapter 17
Physical
Development in
Late Adulthood
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prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.

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Chapter Outline
• Longevity
• The course of physical development in late
adulthood
• Health

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the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
Longevity (1 of 7)
• Life expectancy and life span
• The young-old and the oldest-old
• Biological theories of aging

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Longevity (2 of 7)
• Life expectancy and life span
– Life span: Maximum number of years an
individual can live
 Between 120 - 125 years
– Life expectancy: Number of years that the
average person born in a particular year will
probably live
– Differences in life expectancy across countries
 Factors such as health conditions and medical care
 Ethnic differences

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Longevity (3 of 7)
– Centenarians
 Individuals 100 years and older
 Increasing at the rate of seven percent each year
in industrialized countries because of:
o Diet
o Low-stress lifestyle
o Caring community
o Activity
o Spirituality

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the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
Longevity (4 of 7)
– Centenarians
 Individuals 100 years and older
 Increasing at the rate of seven percent each year
in industrialized countries because of:
o Diet
o Low-stress lifestyle
o Caring community
o Activity
o Spirituality

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Longevity (5 of 7)
• The young-old and the oldest-old
– Young-old - Aged 65 to 84
– Oldest-old - Aged 85 or more
– Functional age - Person’s actual ability to
function

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Longevity (6 of 7)
• Biological theories of aging
– Evolutionary theory: Natural selection has not
eliminated many harmful conditions and non-
adaptive characteristics in older adults
 Benefits conferred by evolution decline with age
because natural selection is linked to reproductive
fitness
– Cellular clock theory: Cells can divide a
maximum of 75 to 80 times
 Age makes cells less capable of dividing
 Telomeres - Tips of chromosomes; DNA sequences
that cap chromosomes

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Longevity (7 of 7)
• Biological theories of aging
– Free-radical theory: People age because normal
metabolic processes within cells produce unstable
oxygen molecules that ricochet around inside
cells damaging DNA and cellular structures
– Mitochondrial theory: Aging is caused by the
decay of mitochondria
– Hormonal stress theory: Aging in the body’s
hormonal system can lower resistance to stress
and increase the likelihood of disease

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Risks of Dying from Cancer in
Okinawa, Japan

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the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
The Decrease in Brain Lateralization in
Older Adults

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The Course of Physical Development
in Late Adulthood (1 of 13)
• Aging brain
• Sleep
• The immune system
• Physical appearance and movement
• Sensory development
• The circulatory and respiratory system
• Sexuality

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The Course of Physical Development
in Late Adulthood (2 of 13)
• Aging brain
– Shrinking, slowing brain
 Brain loses 5 to 10 percent of its weight between
the ages of 20 and 90 years
 Brain volume decreases due to:
o Shrinkage of neurons
o Lower numbers of synapses
o Reduced length of axon

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The Course of Physical Development
in Late Adulthood (3 of 13)
 Slowing of function in the brain and spinal cord
begins in middle adulthood and accelerates in late
adulthood
o Affecting physical coordination and intellectual
performance
 Aging is linked to:
o Reduction in synaptic functioning
o Production of neurotransmitters

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The Course of Physical Development
in Late Adulthood (4 of 13)
– Adapting brain
 Neurogenesis: Generation of new neurons
 Dendritic growth
 Older brains rewire to compensate for losses
 Decrease in lateralization
o Improves cognitive functioning

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The Course of Physical Development
in Late Adulthood (5 of 13)
• Sleep
– Fifty percent of older adults complain of having
difficulty sleeping
 Result in earlier death
 Linked to a lower level of cognitive functioning

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The Course of Physical Development
in Late Adulthood (6 of 13)
• Strategies to help older adults sleep better at
night include:
– Avoiding caffeine
– Avoiding over-the-counter sleep remedies
– Staying physically active during the day
– Staying mentally active
– Limiting naps

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The Course of Physical Development
in Late Adulthood (7 of 13)
• Immune system
– Declines in functioning with age
 Extended duration of stress and diminished
restorative processes
 Malnutrition involving low levels of protein
– Exercise improves the immune system, and
influenza vaccination is important

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The Course of Physical Development
in Late Adulthood (8 of 13)
• Physical appearance and movement
– Most noticeable changes - Wrinkles and age
spots
– Shorter with aging due to bone loss in their
vertebrae
– Weight drops after age 60
 Muscle loss
– Older adults move slowly than young adults

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The Course of Physical Development
in Late Adulthood (9 of 13)
• Sensory development
– Vision
 Visual acuity
 Color vision
 Depth perception
 Diseases of the eye
o Cataracts: Thickening of the lens of the eye that
causes vision to become cloudy, opaque, and distorted
o Glaucoma: Damage to the optic nerve because of
pressure created by a buildup of fluid in the eye
o Macular degeneration: Deterioration of the macula of
the retina, which corresponds to the focal center of
the visual field

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The Course of Physical Development
in Late Adulthood (10 of 13)
– Hearing
 Impairments becomes an impediment
 Hearing aids and cochlear implants minimize the
problems linked to hearing loss
– Smell and taste
 Losses begin at about age 60 years

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The Course of Physical Development
in Late Adulthood (11 of 13)
– Touch and pain
 Detect touch less in the lower extremities
 Decreased sensitivity to pain can help adults to
cope with disease and injury
o Mask injuries and illnesses that need to be treated
– Perceptual motor coupling
 Cognitive training
 Education

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The Course of Physical Development
in Late Adulthood (12 of 13)
• Circulatory system and lungs
– Increase in cardiovascular disorders
– High blood pressure can be linked to:
 Illness
 Obesity
 Anxiety
 Stiffening of blood vessels
 Lack of exercise
– Lung capacity drops 40 percent between the
ages of 20 and 80

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The Course of Physical Development
in Late Adulthood (13 of 13)
• Sexuality
– Orgasm becomes less frequent in males with age
– Many are sexually active as long as they are
healthy
– Therapies have been effective in improving
sexual functioning

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Changes in Body Composition of Bone,
Muscle, and Fat from 25 to 75 Years of
Age

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the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
Vision and Hearing Decline in Late
Adulthood
Perceptual
System
65 to 74 years 75 years and older
Vision
There is a loss of acuity even
with corrective lenses. Less
transmission of light occurs
through the retina (half as
much as in young adults).
Greater susceptibility to glare
occurs. Color discrimination
ability decreases.
There is a significant loss of
visual acuity and color
discrimination, and a decrease
in the size of the perceived
visual field. In late old age,
people are at significant risk for
visual dysfunction from
cataracts and glaucoma.
Hearing
There is a significant loss of
hearing at high frequencies
and some loss at middle
frequencies. These losses can
be helped by a hearing aid.
There is greater susceptibility
to masking of what is heard
by noise.
There is a significant loss at
high and middle frequencies. A
hearing aid is more likely to be
needed than in young-old age.

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Sexual Activity in Older Adults with a
Partner

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the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
The Most Prevalent Chronic Conditions
in Middle and Late Adulthood

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Health (1 of 6)
• Health problems
– Probability of having some disease or illness
increases with age
– Chronic diseases with a slow onset and a long
duration are common in late adulthood
– Causes of death in older adults
 Nearly 60 percent of 65-74 years old die of cancer
or cardiovascular disease
 75-84 and 85+ age groups
o Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death
 Ethnicity is linked with death rates of older adults
 Arthritis: Inflammation of the joints accompanied
by pain, stiffness, and movement problems

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Health (2 of 6)
– Osteoporosis: Extensive loss of bone tissue
 Causes older adults to walk with stoop
– Accidents - Ninth leading cause of death in older
adults
 Falls are the leading cause of injury death
• Substance use and abuse
– Multiple medications - Increase the risks
associated with consuming alcohol or other drugs
– Frequency of binge drinking - Highest among
older adults
– Substance abuse has been identified as the
invisible epidemic in the United States

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Health (3 of 6)
– Late-onset alcoholism - Used to describe the
onset of alcoholism after the age of 65
 Related to loneliness, loss of a spouse, or a
disabling condition
– Moderate drinking of red wine - Linked to better
health and increased longevity due to benefits of
resveratrol

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Health (4 of 6)
• Exercise, nutrition, and weight
– Exercise
 Linked to increased longevity and prevention of
chronic diseases
 Associated with improvement in the treatment of
diseases
 Improves older adults’ cellular functioning and
immune system functioning
 Optimizes body composition and reduce the
decline in motor skills as aging occurs
 Reduces the likelihood of developing mental health
problems
 Reduces the negative effects of stress

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Health (5 of 6)
 Linked to improved brain, cognitive, and affective
functioning
– Nutrition and weight
 Getting adequate nutrition
 Avoiding overweight and obesity
 Role of calorie restriction in improving health and
extending life
– Controversy over vitamins and aging
 Balanced diet - Needed for successful aging
 Antioxidants
o Slow the aging process and improve the health
o Neutralize free-radical activity
o Reduce oxidative stress

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Health (6 of 6)
• Health treatment
– Need to expand disease management programs
– Geriatric nurses - Helpful in treating the health
care problems
– Development of alternative home and
community-based care
 Decreased the percentage of older adults who live
in nursing homes
– Factor related to health and survival in a nursing
home is patient’s feelings of control and self-
determination

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Physical Fitness and Mortality

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Perceived Control and Mortality