The long march to a ripe old age

Results from last year's census show a leap in the number of centenarians. KATHERINE HOBY finds out why more New Zealanders are living past 100.

There was a time when newspapers would write a story on every person who turned 100. A centenarian was a rarity. But no longer.

Newly released census figures for last year show 99 men and 303 women aged 100 or more living in New Zealand last year.

In 1996, the numbers were 33 men and 225 women, and five years earlier 48 men and 249 women were aged 100 or older.

As advances are made in medicine and people learn to look after themselves better, the ageing population is growing.

At present 450,426 people - around 12 per cent of the population - are 65 or more, compared with 4 per cent, or 1 in 25 people, in 1901. By 2050 that figure will have more than doubled to 25 per cent of the population.

A region-by-region analysis finds that Marlborough has the highest proportion of over-65s, with one in every six people.

At the other end of the scale, only one out of every 10 Aucklanders is over 65.

Recent figures show New Zealanders made the largest improvement in life expectancy in the developed world in the past decade.

Men who reach 60 can expect to live to 80 and women at 60 can expect to reach 84.

This may well be reflected in the census figures that show a substantial jump of 26 per cent in the number of people aged 85 and over between 1996 and last year.

But will the burgeoning elderly population in New Zealand be a burden on the taxpayer?

And why are so many more people now living to 100?

Ian Pool, a professor of demography at Waikato University, says to determine that, we have to look at the social and economic factors around the time our centenarians were born, rather than what is happening now.

"It is important to look at the numbers born 100 years ago, and the social events surrounding those numbers rather than fixate on what's happening to us and our oldies in 2002.

"It is the getting to 70 that really counts, not the period of 70 to 100."

Between 1870 and 1900 several key things occurred that made a dramatic difference.

One of those was that the fertility rate for New Zealand women dropped from seven live births per woman to half that, 3.5 births, by 1902, Pool says.

"We were having fewer babies but they were healthier."

The late 1800s was the last period of very high fertility until the postwar baby boom. At the same time as the fertility rate dropped, so did the infant mortality rate.

Behaviours changed because families were smaller.

For example, younger children were cared for by parents rather than older siblings.

This type of behaviour led to a decrease in the childhood accident death rate, Pool says.

The diet of the time was high in protein and meat and milk were staple foods for growing Kiwi children.

"We started measuring and recording heights and weights around that time.

"New Zealand kids turned out to be much taller and fatter than US kids, and far more healthy than UK kids.

"It got us off to a great start in life. Start healthy, continue healthy," says Pool.

"We were very well off by world standards."

Healthy diet and living conditions meant less risk of contracting childhood diseases or ailments.

There was also a big shift in New Zealand's population around the late 1800s and immigrant numbers were high, particularly from Australia.

"There was a sudden population spurt in that period," Pool says.

"New Zealand was an attractive place to come to and many of those who thought so were young parents.

"More parents mean more kids. More kids mean more elderly now."

Safeguards for health and wellbeing such as the inception of the welfare state were in place by the 1890s.

The increasingly ageing population has prompted one organisation to include a younger age group in its focus.

Age Concern New Zealand looks primarily at the health and wellbeing of over-65s but has started a programme for people from the age of 40 on.

Chief executive Garth Taylor says the organisation's Ageing Is Living programme was established as a direct reflection of the country's ageing population.

"We say that we look after older New Zealanders, and we don't really like to put a limit on it.

"But we are shifting our focus and encouraging people from the age 40 upwards to learn to age well, and to age healthily.

"We want them to be able to enjoy their years right through to maybe their mid-80s as an average.

"The things we are trying to get across is that if you start thinking at 40 about your lifestyle and how you age, then it's going to be better for you when you do hit 65," Taylor says.

"You're going to be in a position where you will still be able to go out, do physical things and really enjoy life."

He reckons people from the age of 40 should start giving serious consideration to their lifestyles.

"Moderation in everything is good."

Age Concern is delighted that more and more people are getting past the 100-year mark.

"It means that people are living healthier and ageing positively, which is all part of our cornerstone.

Not only are they living longer but they are getting there in better shape than they have in the past.

The Minister for Senior Citizens, Lianne Dalziel, says an increase in the number of elderly people should be seen as a bonus for New Zealand communities.

"There are considerable opportunities with an ageing population.

"We can take advantage of their skills and stories and use them as mentors, and support people in our lives," she says.

"There is an enormous amount of opportunity represented by people who in the past would have retired and probably died soon after. They are a resource.

"What we're establishing is that what happens early in life has an impact on what happens later."

Dalziel says the Government superannuation fund is vital for the security of the country's senior citizens.

"It enables people to know what they will receive and to plan for the extras they will need."