Midstate residents interested in how to age well should register now for Middle Tennessee State University’s Positive Aging Conference set for early April on campus.
Held in Miller Education Center at MTSU, located at 503 E. Bell St., the all-day conference is set for 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Friday, April 5. The event, first held in 2022, is sponsored by the MTSU Positive Aging Consortium and will feature guest speakers, on-site parking and meals for the $35 admittance price. Registration is only available online and limited to 120 participants.
“The conference is focused on and for older adults,” said Deborah Lee, holder of the NHC Chair of Excellence in Nursing at MTSU and director of the Positive Aging Consortium. “We’re all aging and we need to think about what we can do early enough to help ourselves age well.”
Keynote: ‘Growing Older with Enthusiasm’
By 2050, more than 80 million Americans will be age 65 or older, according to data from the not-for-profit Population Reference Bureau.
And that is going to be a “tremendous pressure” on the health care system, said conference keynote speaker and Professor Emeritus Ron Aday, who taught over 40 years in the MTSU Department of Sociology and Anthropology.
“For 99.9% of the time humans have inhabited the Earth, average life expectancy was 30 to 40 years. We are, for the first time, in new territory and with medical advances millions of older adults now have the opportunity to live decades longer than previous generations,” said Aday, who will talk about “Growing Older with Enthusiasm: A Conversation on Positive Aging.”
The purpose of the Positive Aging Conference is to provide aging adults with information and resources to “be more intentional about taking responsibility for living a longer and healthier life,” Aday said.
This year, the conference will have breakout sessions that delve into critical aspects of aging, offering a comprehensive exploration of topics such as mental health, the impact and management of opioid use, nutritional insights, issues for veterans’ health, the secrets behind Blue Zones (regions of the world where people live longer and healthier lives), innovative longevity strategies, and technologies for staying connected and independent.
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