Images of aging: Global efforts to challenge stereotypes gain momentum by Marilynn Larkin, MA

"Throughout the world, the number of older adults is growing faster than any other age group, according to a report released in October 2012 by the United Nations Population Fund and HelpAge International. ... “If you were to open a newspaper or watch television, you’d think the world’s rapidly aging population was something terrible,” John Beard, MBBS, PhD, director of the Department of Ageing and Life Course at the World Health Organization (WHO), tells the Journal on Active Aging®. “But we at WHO see it as a success and opportunity, because older people are a resource for the community. We know they contribute in many ways to their families, neighborhoods and society in general, either informally or through the workforce. The challenge for us,” Beard continues, “is to break down barriers to those contributions and help older people maintain the lives they want to lead.” To that end, WHO chose “Ageing and health” as the 2012 theme for World Health Day—promoting the slogan “Good health adds life to years”—and published a poster series and news brief that challenge the “current stereotypes older people have to grapple with.”