Health Sciences 2711A/B Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Population Ageing, Population Pyramid, Old Kingdom Of Egypt
22 Jan 2020
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January 8th 2019 Class notes
Population Aging and Health
Perception of Old Age
- What is considered OLD
o Usually 65; sometimes 60
o Old age as a socially constructed idea→ depends on culture
▪ Seeing someone you may say oh they must be old, but they could be 50 not 65
▪ Age is socially constructed
• There is biology
▪ Socially constructed idea
• Not inherent to people, it is a label people place on others and others
may accept it as they get used to it
• Bc it is created by people, it can be subject to change
o Sometimes younger (e.g., ‘older workers = 40+)
▪ Some people consider 40+ as old
▪ Like modelling→ if you are 40, you are no longer considered ‘young’→ you are
considered too old
▪ It varies by situation and industry
o Potentially increased to 70?
▪ Historically people didn’t live that long, but now people are living longer and
longer→ challenge the traditional and conservative old age
Ageing Population
- Of overall population
- Aging population:
o A rising average age within a population and is an inevitable result of longer life
expectancies and lower birthrates.
o Look at a population’s age composition
▪ Important terms
• Fertility(birth rate)
• Mortality
• Life-expectancy
- How to determine if a population is aging
- One of the easiest ways is a Population pyramid
Population Pyramid
- We are looking at the age composition
- Male and female
Age composition helps us…
- Understand the changing population structure and its impact on a nation over time
- Plan for government’s and individuals’ future expenditure
- Demographers study population structure
o They can show different population periods and what is happening in our society
o What can affect age composition
▪ Fertility→ more babies, the base of the population will be wider, more younger
people
▪ Mortality→ rate changes, more people live longer, top part is wider
▪ Life expectancy→ more people alive and this increases
▪ Migration also affects
• People come into the country, they add to the existing population
number
• Looking at immigration: they can bring their family with them to the
country→ make our population grow older with these older family
Age Pyramid of Canadian Population, 1971, 2010
- Shows how population is shifting
- Birth rate is dropping
- People are living longer
- This is how we see the population is aging
- 65 is the bench mark in this pyramid
Age Pyramid of Canadian Population, 2009, 2036, 2061
- If you look at the light blue there is more females in old age
o Women are living longer than men
o Female genes are stronger than men
Will we be able to support the growing size of the elderly population in Canada?
- Reading in chapter 1 debates
Document Summary
Like modelling if you are 40, you are no longer considered young" you are considered too old. It varies by situation and industry: potentially increased to 70, historically people didn"t live that long, but now people are living longer and longer challenge the traditional and conservative old age. Aging population: a rising average age within a population and is an inevitable result of longer life expectancies and lower birthrates, look at a population"s age composition. How to determine if a population is aging. One of the easiest ways is a population pyramid. We are looking at the age composition. Understand the changing population structure and its impact on a nation over time. Life expectancy more people alive and this increases: people come into the country, they add to the existing population number. Looking at immigration: they can bring their family with them to the country make our population grow older with these older family.
