By Carol Blair Vaughn

The composition of the world population has changed dramatically in recent decades as life expectancy worldwide has risen from 46 to 68 years – except in Costa Rica, where life expectancy has risen to 77 for men, and 81 for women, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO has dubbed this movement, “Older People – a new power for development”.

In 1990 the United Nations General Assembly voted to establish October 1st as International Day of Older Persons, now in its 25th year. The objective was to recognize the contributions of older persons and to examine issues which affect their lives. The holiday is celebrated by raising awareness about issues affecting the elderly and celebrating the contributions that older folks make to society.

Said WHO, Brasilia, in a declaration on healthy ageing, ”Ageing is a developmental issue. Healthy older persons are a resource for their families, their communities, and the economy. “

So what is it like to get older in Costa Rica? The Global Age Watch Index 2015 ranks us in 28th place for quality of life in old age. Switzerland has us beat (again), coming in 3rd. We ranked high in the health domain, and civic freedom domain, and enabling environment domain. Our rating dropped this year in the capability domain, due to a revision downward in education attainment.

Growing old should be a pleasure, and it usually is in Costa Rica. Contrast our lives here with folks living in countries that have no free health care, no chronic disease treatment, no subsidized public transport, and no cultural traditions of looking after the elderly – and you’ll see we are really doing alright here.

New York Times and National Geographic author Dan Buettner (The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer from the People Who’ve Lived the Longest), has identified longevity hotspots, which he calls Blue Zones, and Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula is among them. Folks there live into their 100’s, largely free of heart disease, obesity, cancer, and diabetes, and the formula seems to be quite simple.

Buettner lists nine lessons from lifestyles of Blue Zone people which many of us may want to adopt in honor of the Day of Older persons. Here they are:

1. Moderate, regular physical activity.
2. Life purpose.
3. Stress reduction.
4. Moderate caloric intake.
5. Plant- based diet.
6. Low alcohol intake, especially wine.
7. Engagement in spirituality or religion.
8. Engagement in family life.
9. Engagement in social life.

Buettner also advocates consuming longevity foods such as the “three sisters of Meso-American agriculture: corn, beans, and squash”, which together make a complete protein. He also discovered that people who eat nuts every day live 2-3 years longer than non nut-eaters.

We are experiencing a demographic revolution throughout the world today. There are around 600 million persons now aged 60 years and over. This total will reach two billion by 2050 – the vast majority of them in the developing world. The U.N. has dubbed this year’s celebration of Older Person’s Day “Sustainability and Age Inclusiveness in the Urban Environment”

If only we were young enough to remember a title like that…. Happy Day!

About the Author

Carol Blair Vaughn holds a Master’s Degree in Performing Arts and is a retired college professor from Washington, D.C. She inherited her love for Latin America from her father, the former U.S. Ambassador
to Colombia, Panama, and Director of the Peace Corps, Jack Vaughn. Carol writes for the Association of Residents of Costa Rica (ARCR) and for an English language club in the southern region of Costa Rica. In the past, Carol served as Editor in Chief of What’s on Tap magazine.