Wellbeing in Later Life uses the latest research from a variety of disciplines to address and correct common myths and misconceptions about aging.

Covers topics ranging from biological mechanisms that affect aging to lifestyle, attitudes, and social factorsExamines the challenges of humanitys increasing life expectancy and includes recommendations for maintaining and enhancing wellbeing in later lifeMakes meaningful connections between research and practice to link aspects of aging which have previously been considered separatePart of the six-volumeWellbeing: A Complete Reference Guide, which brings together leading research from across the social sciences

Thomas B. L. Kirkwood is Professor of Medicine and Director of the Newcastle Initiative on Changing Age at Newcastle University.

Cary L. Cooper is Distinguished Professor of Organizational Psychology and Health at Lancaster University.

About the Editors vii

Contributors ix

Full Contents ofWellbeing: A Complete Reference Guide xi

Introduction toWellbeing: A Complete Reference Guide xxv

1 Introduction: Wellbeing in Later Life 1
Cary L. Cooper and Thomas B. L. Kirkwood

Part 1 Longevity and Wellbeing 7

2 The Changing Demographic Context of Aging 9
Roland Rau and James W. Vaupel

3 Biological Determinants and Malleability of Aging 31
Thomas B. L. Kirkwood

4 Wellbeing as Experienced by the Very Old 53
Carol Jagger and Katie Brittain

Part 2 Factors Influencing Wellbeing 67

5 Psychological Wellbeing in Later Life 69
Kate M. Bennett and Laura K. Soulsby

6 Nutrition and Lifelong Wellbeing 91
C. Alexandra Munro and John C. Mathers

7 Physical Activity, Exercise, and Aging 105
Grainne S. Gorman, Josh Wood, and Michael I. Trenell

8 Capability and Independency in Later Life 125
John Bond

9 Combating Isolation Through Technology in Older People 145
Peter Gore

10 Wellbeing and Vitality in Later Life: The Role of the Consumer Industry 165
Michael Catt and Frans J. G. van der Ouderaa

11 Education and its Role in Wellbeing 181
Jim Soulsby

Part 3 Wellbeing at the End of Life 197

12 The Threat to Wellbeing from Cognitive Decline 199
Louise Robinson and Lynne Corner

13 When Vitality Meets Longevity: New Strategies for Health in Later Life 219
Rudi G. J. Westendorp, Bert Mulder, A. J. Willem van der Does, and Frans J. G. van der Ouderaa

14 Maintaining Wellbeing Through the End of Life 235
Julian C. Hughes

Part 4 Comparative Perspectives on Wellbeing 253

15 Cultures, Aging, and Wellbeing 255
Ngaire Kerse, Mere Kepa, Ruth Teh, and Lorna Dyall

16 Wellbeing in the Oldest Old and Centenarians in Japan 275
Yasuyuki Gondo, Yasumichi Arai, and Nobuyoshi Hirose

17 Wellbeing in Later Life in Eighteenth-Century England 287
Helen Yallop

Appendix

Foresight Mental Capital and Wellbeing Project: Mental Capital Through Life: Future Challenges 299
Thomas B. L. Kirkwood, John Bond, Carl May, Ian McKeith, and Min-Min Teh

Index 389