Long life is very hoped-for particularly if it is lived in good health. Everybody knows that old age would be escorted by health problems; some people stay healthy as they age, in such a way increasing their chances of enjoying retirement and taking full advantage of their elderly years. You wonder who are they and why do they remain in good health?
 In some countries like Canada where quantitative sense of seniors is increasing rapidly, it is important to understand the controlling factor of healthy aging. In recent years the demand for health care is likely to increase. People can be authorized to take charge of their health by informing them of the dangers of particular behaviors. Now people are able to protect themselves from avoidable risks, and to create healthy social surroundings. This assistance could confine the probable increase in the demand for health care services and therefore promote to reducing the load of disease and dependence on the public health care system.
The range of health and mortality determining factors are evaluated: demographic and socio-economic characteristics (age, sex, education, household income, rural or urban residence), lifestyle (smoking, alcohol consumption, weight, physical activity in leisure time), psycho-social factors (depression, stress, social support), chronic conditions and frequency of medical advices.
Two groups are considered. The first one is adults who are aged 45 to 64 and seniors, those who are 65 years old or more. This distinction is useful analytically because in order to age in a healthy way through the senior years, persons must first reach age 65 in good health. Health often changes at a different speed and in different circumstances from one age group to another. Eventually, the harmful consequences of many risk behaviors such as smoking may be perceptible on health only over the long-term. Consequently, the determinants of healthy aging could well be different for the two groups.
One study reported that in 1994-1995, two out of three middle aged adults were in good health. After age of 65, one person out of two was in good health, a reflection of the tendency for health to worsen with advancing age. These healthy middle aged adults and seniors are the population under study and were watched closely during next eight years in order to determine those who stayed in good health throughout the entire period.
It has been calculated that within every two year cycle, approximately one out of five middle aged adults, that is about 20%, lost their good health or died. Study that has been conducted in 2002-2003 reported that a little more than two middle aged adults out of five, that is about 44%, were in good health and still alive.
It is clear that the decrease in health position was even sharper among older people. Thus nearly one senior out of three (30%) had lost their good health or died in each two-year period. Only 22% of seniors who had been in good health in 1994-1995 were still alive and healthy eight years later.
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