| Description |
Rowe and Kahn's (1987) seminal piece in the Journal, Science, and the work driven by the MacArthur Foundation that followed (Rowe & Kahn, 1997, 1998) arguably signaled a paradigm shift in how we think about aging and health. Rather than a purely biomedical view of aging and health, Rowe and Kahn postulated a broader perspective suggesting that in addition to the avoidance of disease and disability (and risk factors that predispose one to such consequences), "successful" aging also entails maintaining a high level of function, and being actively engaged with life through social connectedness and productive activity. Healthy aging, therefore, is best viewed contextually, involving an interplay of personal (including behavioral and attitudinal as well as genetic), environmental, social and cultural factors (House, 2002; Sallis, Owen, & Fisher, 2008; Vaillant, 2002; Vaillant & Mukamal, 2001). |
