Late Adulthood Issues - Essay Example

This is most true for more traditional marriages. However, evidence suggests that married persons tend to be happier in late adulthood than single persons, though those who have never married often cope the best with feelings of loneliness in late life.

Erik Erikson (1902-1994) proposed a lifespan theory of development. He described the late adult stage of our life as coming to accept one's whole life and positively reflecting on that life. He calls this stage of development Integrity versus Despair. According to Erikson, achieving a sense of integrity means fully accepting oneself, and one's accomplishments, and coming to terms with mortality. Accepting responsibility for your life and being able to undo the past and achieve satisfaction with yourself is essential. On the other hand, some may look back at their lives with a sense of doubt or gloom over their life's worth. This results in feelings of despair. For Erikson, a successful resolution of this stage results in virtue wisdom. 

Life expectancy test gives you a rough guide for predicting your longevity. The basic life expectancy for males is age 74, and for females, it is 80. I need to be careful about being overweight, my girth measurement, and living constantly in an urban area. 

Being overweight can contribute to many an illness.  The term overweight is generally used to indicate that a human has more body fat than is considered useful for the optimal functioning of the body. Being overweight is a fairly common condition for many people, especially those in developed nations where food supplies are plentiful and lifestyles often do not involve a lot of activities that generate caloric expenditure. A healthy body requires a minimum amount of fat for the proper functioning of the hormonal, reproductive, and immune systems, as thermal insulation, as shock absorption for sensitive areas, and as excess energy for future use. But the accumulation of too much storage fat can impair movement and flexibility, and can alter the appearance of the body.

There also exist formulas for estimating body fat percentage from an individual's weight and girth measurements. For example, the U.S. Navy Circumference method compares abdomen or waist and hips measurements to neck measurement and height, and other sites claim to estimate one's body fat percentage by a conversion from the body mass index. My biggest threat to life expectancy has been from this area. I need to work on reducing my fat and excess weight.            

Urbanism is the study of cities - their geographic, economic, political, social, and cultural environment, and the imprint of all these forces on the built environment. Urbanism is also the practice of creating human communities for living, work, and play, covering the more human aspects of urban planning. Urbanists define urban areas by their high population density. They maintain that this characteristic makes cities physically and sociologically distinct from rural areas.

There are three immediate goals for the next six months:
- Diet to reduce weight,
- Regular Exercise,
- Weight chart.

I must begin the next month with a firm determination to persevere in reducing my body weight, increase the frequency of regular exercise and eat a balanced diet.