We are all living longer and this 'impact' of  ageing should be made easier  with any  possible  age-related dependency  minimised. If one lives for 90  years, every attempt should  be made  to make all  those 90 years active and healthy.

It may sound a bit utopian but the  late-life 'morbidities'  can be 'compressed' quite a bit  through  'healthy' life style and  maintenance of 'activity'.  HALE  is Healthy Active Life Expectancy ;  let me explain. If one lives upto 90  but becomes dependent at the age of 80 -  his  post-retiremnet  HALE will be 15/25  ie  60%.  If , however, his dependency could be 'delayed' by another 5 yrs , it will be  80% .   It has been suggested by some social gerontologists that we should all make an effort to reduce the period  of 'morbidity and dependemcy' or even to 'postpone' them   and  increase  our HALE.

Early expert  assessment  of  functional ability , a correct diagnosis followed by modern treatment , strong psychological and social support and  environment are  matters  which might make  increase the HALE.  

The  'conventional' approach for  more and more care and care-homes etc can't be the way forward.  The whole society must begin to look at things differently  and take a more progressive view towards ageing. Certainly not neglect but not thousands of more care home beds , certainly better provision of health and social provisions but not  more and more   granny creches !

Most middle aged of today ie  elders of tomorrow would like to live a fulfilling  active  social life shared  with the rest of the community --  and , when eventually the time comes,  to die 'young' !!! Can anything else be better??