“You’ve aged well.”
That’s an American saying meant as a compliment. A new study has found that senior citizens in Japan are aging better than in the United States.
Japanese elders are living longer, happier lives, reports New American Media.
Findings of the United States-Japan research project point toward cultural norms as the reason. The percentage of senior citizens living alone in the United States is twice that of Japan. Aging in Japan is celebrated with the 60th, 70th, 77th, 88th, 90th, 97th and 100th holding special meaning.
“Results suggest that Japan’s age-supportive cultural meanings and practices nurture perceptions of personal growth among its aging adults, whereas in the U.S., the aged show diminished profiles of personal growth relative to midlife adults,” the study concluded