Is 70 the new 50?

The answer to that question is a qualified yes that depends on just how old you really are, how you feel, and how your parents aged. People who think that their parents aged well feel they are following in their parents' footsteps. We asked a cross section of our older panelists if they agreed that 70 was the new 50, and most of those who were over 60 agreed, but those in their 50s didn't think they could really pass for 30. Age Agree 50s 43% 60s 60% 70s 58% 80s 79%

Some of the agreement was kind of iffy, with comments like "Twenty years might be a bit much" or "More like 10 or 15 years than 20." But many of the responses to our question were enthusiastic:

* "I think so!"

* "You bet!"

* "Of course I do. "

* "Yes, working with young people helps."

* "Yes, my parents had to work a lot harder. "

* "By far. My mother was always way behind the times."

* "Yes. My parents always seemed old to me. "

* "At least 20! At 61, I'm a single mom of a seven-year-old. As long as I can keep jogging 3-4 miles a day, I'll be able to keep up with him and the parents of his classmates who are in their 30s and 40s. "

* I'm 58 with two children aged 16 and 12.I have a physically active job and participate in skiing, swimming, and biking with the kids as well as running the house, shopping, gardening, and a small in-home business. I like to remind my friends who have children the ages of mine but who are 10-15 years younger than I, that I expect them to be doing what I'm doing when they get to be 58."

The table at right shows problems being experienced by at least 25 percent of the seniors we surveyed. Looking and feeling twenty years younger doesn't mean not having age-related problems.

Retailers, packagers, and manufacturers should be paying attention to those high problem numbers for arm strength, bending, knees, and balance, which deserve but don't get as much attention as cholesterol, weight control, and blood pressure.

Just for starters, the high problem numbers for balance and arm strength make a clarion call for easy-grasp and balance handles on heavy packages and awkward packages. The high numbers for bending and knees should alert retailers to some of the problems that older consumers have shopping their bottom shelves.

Problem How many? Running 50% Climbing 44% Arm strength 40% Bending 40% Bladder control 39% Knees 36% Body shape 36% Balance 35% Bike riding 32% Blood pressure 31% Energy level 31% Speed of motion 31% Weight control 31% Cholesterol 28% Cleaning 27% Memory-names 26% Opening packages 26%