Health-Related Ageing – Determinants and Debates
Health-Related Ageing – Determinants and Debates

Summary/Abstract: The aim of this article is to analyse health and ageing in their interdependence and to debate some myths about ‘the significant others’, the people over the age of 65, as the fastest growing group in modern societies. The investigation of the demographic ageing and the health determinants is performed from the position of a medical doctor and a public health researcher. Data from large-scale sociological studies are presented as proof that healthy habits greatly improve health-related quality of life and prolong life. On the other hand, there is age discrimination in healthcare, which, together with poverty, determines the gloomy picture of our ageing society. In the context of the historic political changes after 1989, the term ‘fourth value transition’ is introduced, which unites themes of sustainable societal efforts to achieve a better health-related quality of life in opposition to the banalized and socially demobilizing myths regarding old age and population ageing.

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