Background

This 5-page essay will reflect conversations you have with a middle-aged and an older adult regarding physical and health changes they have experienced. Generate several questions based on your textbook readings on adult physical and health development. Turn in your questions along with your completed essay.

Conversations with a middle-aged and an older adult regarding physical and health changes

Interview questions Asked

As a middle-aged individual what changes do you see happening in your body (physical and health)?
Do you feel as though you can actually feel physical changes in your body on a daily basis or rather when it comes to application you are able to note the difference?
Do you feel that as a man the physical changes you are experiencing are more significant than that of a woman’s?
Do you feel as though the skills that are being affected are more so your motor skills or things such as your reaction times?
Do you believe that your physical changes are significantly affecting things such as your cognition?
As an older-aged individual what changes do you see happening in your body (physical and health)?
Have you ever felt as though you are a victim of ageism?
Are you confident despite the changes in your appearance, or you feel it is natural and do not think much of it?
Would you say your vision is something that has drastically changed more or your hearing, or neither?
Are there any chronic health problems that you see developing among your peers that you can attest to age, and if so how does that make you feel?
Do you feel that your current health and physical status is due largely to genetics or more so to the lifestyle that you chose to live up until this point?

Essay

Understanding individuals in different periods of their life can be a monumental task, and it requires subtly and a sense of openness. Thus, discussing age and physical health with an individual that is in their middle adulthood, and another individual that is in their older adulthood, it can be seen that there are distinct differences and similarities that exist between the two individuals. I spoke to a friend of mine, Richard who is considered to fall within the middle-aged age range, and I went forward with speaking to my father, Mohammed as the older adult. I asked each of them a series of questions, which can be found at the end of this report, and aimed to understand what their experiences were and how I was able to develop a full understanding of what they were going through based of the research and indications of what typical experiences are at that time for them.

When discussing with Richard, the focus was on the ways that being in that age range is able to manifest itself through physical and health changes. Thus, foremost was to assess what are the changes that he felt he was going through. Richard stated, that as someone who is middle aged, and of fairly good health he does not feel as though he is experiencing any significant health changes, but he can feel physical changes in his body. Therefore, he has noted that he was not as able to be as energetic as he was in his younger years. Thus, he felt that he was working a full day whether spending it at his job or being out for the whole day recreationally, it is as though the stamina he had is not at a consistent level of high energy that it was when he was younger. This was a notable point for him, as it was stressed multiple times that the changes are almost seemingly subtle but that he feels as though there are differences that he can sense. Per the text it is stated that, “Most physical abilities peak during adolescence or early adulthood and level off in early middle adulthood; then the first signs of physical decline begin to appear. For many middle aged people, there is a moment of truth, when the mirror reveals new wrinkles, midriff bulge, a receding hairline, or gray hair at the temples that no longer seem distinguee – just depressing” (Dunn & Craig, 2013). This information and research speaks directly to the experience Richard was having, and would indicate that he is at an earlier stage of this middle adulthood, because he is beginning to see some subtle changes coming forward.

Moving forward, I wanted to discuss with him if the physical changes that he is feeling are able to be noted on a daily basis or during large scale application of his body doing something particularly strenuous. As noted before, he stated that it is as though both of them are making it clear to him that he is getting older. In that when he is working heavily with something, directly trying to apply his physical strength, he does not have the ability to perform the way he did when he was younger. The changes that he is experiencing are seemingly on setting very gradually, and that is interesting because often times individuals note that aging feels like overnight they are entirely different; but rather, it seems that Richard is aware that he is not the individual he was in his younger years. When asked if he felt as though the skills that were being affected were more so his motor skills or things such as his reaction times. It was indicated by Richard, that he felt that the things that were being largely effected were reaction times. That when he was younger he was able to react more quickly, and that is in part related to the cognitive side of an individuals health as well.

The text states that individuals that feel as though they are experiencing a difference in reaction time are perhaps performing tasks that they did not frequently do throughout their entire lives. This is explained as the following, “As we age, and especially after age 50, our reaction speed slows. Oftentimes, however, actual performance remains constant, probably because practice and experience compensate for slower reaction times” (Dunn & Craig, 2013). Thus, following up with Richard on that he felt that when playing with his children he was not reacting as quickly to them as he feels like he may have done when he was younger. Going forward with understanding how his physical state is affecting other aspects of his life, I went forward with wanting to understand how the state of his physical body is perhaps translating into any additional health issues such as cholesterol. Richard noted that per the recommendation of his wife that he is focusing more on eating healthier foods, and can more so see how what he eats is actually able to change the energy levels and wellness that he is experiencing. This is something that is natural and easy to understand because, “as the body ages, many changes gradually occur. Among these is an increasing vulnerability to disease” (Dunn & Craig, 2013).

Understanding the answers that Richard gave were interesting because in many ways he was adhering to what the text stated that individuals in his age range would be experiencing. However, it seemed as though he was experiencing more subtly changes than the overarching changes that the text stated would occur. This was also integral to moving forward and discussing with my father what an older aged man would be experiencing as well, and this is important to see how the changes from middle adulthood can drastically change with a couple of years times, seeing how aging is almost exponential at a certain stage of life.

Discussing age with my older father, was in a way that was able to understand fully the experience that he has had in his youth that caused him to be where he is now, and how he is actively dealing with those changes now. Foremost, I wanted to ask him if he felt as though he was ever a victim of ageism, and the response that he gave was very interesting. He stated that when he is around individuals of a similar culture that is one that is focused heavily on respecting elders that he has never felt as though there are biases towards him, but rather the opposite. This is in the manner in which he thinks that he feels the direct respect of other people towards him and he seeks out the company of individuals because they are able to see the value that he has into their society. However, the interesting notion came that often times he feels that as though in America there is a sense of ageism that he can experience. The ways in which often times he is spoken to by strangers perhaps at stores and other public locations, by strangers, he feels as though they are speaking down to him, expecting less competency from an individual that is of this age. The text states that, “older people are often stereotyped in western nations. Stereotypes usually reflect ageism, which refers to the set of widely prevalent negative attitudes that many people hold of older adults. Ageist stereotypes typically overvalue youth and degrade older people” (Dunn & Craig, 2013). In this regard, the text is mirroring exactly the sentiment that my father has stated of older adulthood.

I went on to ask questions such as does he feel that his appearance is changing naturally, and is he confident with the changes. As a highly personal question, my father answered in a manner that indicated that the change he is experiencing are normal for his body, and that he is still strong enough to be able to work daily and be an active member in his family and community mean that he is strong and well, which can be interpreted as a sense of confidence that he is portraying or self proclamation of his abilities. He understands that he was not able to act the same way that he was able to when he was younger, but he feels as though that given the ways he is now he is doing quite well.

I took that to transition into if he feels that his physical state right now could be attested to either his genetics or the lifestyle that he is living and has lived up until the state he is in now. The response was one that encompassed both aspects, in that he has come from a long line of individuals that have been hard working. This hard working attribute is something that he equates to always being active and always having the strong will to work, which he feels has made him mentally and physical stronger, and does not feel he has lost that in his age. Understanding himself in regards to his peers, he did indicate that as he has been getting older he has noticed more of his peers and old friends are falling ill. My father noted that he has seen many individuals that he has known develop problems such as diabetes, and even Alzheimer’s all of which were very concerning to him as they were individuals that he knew very well and he often thought were quite healthy. IT is interesting to note that older adults are experiencing a very unique stage of their life and that they are if not themselves, seeing other individuals experience declining health that can result in death. Something else that my father noted is that often times his memory will be less sharp than often, but that is not at all times, but he feels as though it was something that was more prominently strong in his youth. This is stated within the text to not be abnormal, but rather, there are higher instances of chronic problems that can be noted that perhaps were not as problematic as in the younger years (Dunn & Craig, 2013).

Having both of these conversations, it was essential to be respectful of each individuals aging and how they are able to perceive themselves. The questions which I chose to ask were ones that I wanted to reflect information that came forward within the reading, to indicate the standard physical and health concerns that were indicated as common, and see how in application do they hold to be true. The information mostly translated well, and the standard health and physical changes experienced in middle and older adulthood were applicable to Richard, and my father respectfully, but with subtle changes that were unique to them, which is to be expected with applying anything to individuals as there is always variation. Speaking to any individual at any age, it is essential to have the research framework to base information off of and then see how individuals although very different can be understood. This is highly relevant to physical changes because those are often not as cultural but can be highly genetic.