Photo by kamshots
By Madeleine Kolb
What do we really know about aging, and is what we know really true? Unfortunately, most of what we know is a confusing mix of fact and fiction, of myth and reality.
Some of the common myths are dispelled in the book “Successful Aging” by John W. Rowe, M.D. and Robert L. Kahn, Ph.D., published in 1989. The book discusses results of extensive studies of aging funded by the John D. and Katherine T. MacArthur Foundation. An earlier post dealt with Three Common Myths of Aging. This one discusses another myth.
Myth 4. The horse is out of the barn
This is the idea that after years of bad health habits—like smoking, drinking too much, eating too much, and being physically inactive—the damage is done. That horse is out of the barn, and it ain’t never comin’ back! (more…)
