-Dr.Dianne McCallister, Chief Medical Officer at Porter Adventist Hospital

Have you ever wondered what it means to age “successfully?” Is it the absence of disease, perfect weight or some other factor?

A study published in The Gerontologist surveyed 5,600 people between the ages of 50 and 74 trying to answer these questions.

The findings show that what you do before the age of 50 will have a significant effect on how successful you are after the age of 50.

It ranked the factors that seemed to contribute to remaining healthy over the age of 50.

Being educated

Never having been incarcerated

Being married,

Consume only moderate amounts of alcohol

Either work for pay or do volunteer work

The factors of being educated and never having been incarcerated were the most strongly correlated with good health.

The finding of the correlation regarding incarceration is not something cited in other studies I reviewed.

On the other hand, many other studies have shown a connection between health and education, married state, limited alcohol consumption and doing meaningful things like working or volunteering.

Interestingly, two studies published in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, one written by a local researcher - Dr. Ben Eisman - found that senior citizens living in the community with chronic diseases did feel they were aging successfully - if they shared these factors:

Having friends

Visiting family

Participating in activities

Reading and listening to the radio

Optimism

The maintenance of good memory and brain function is another factor associated with successful aging in other studies, and there is evidence that having a pet can also improve our health.

We can all help ourselves, or those we love, have a more successful late adulthood by doing the following:

Maintain meaningful involvement in the lives of others is a common theme through these studies - so talk to your spouse, visit and cultivate friends, spend time with your family, join a group within your faith beliefs, volunteer and do good, take care of a pet, or even having a job is a healthy thing to do.

Keep your brain active - do puzzles, visit new places, change your routine, read and learn

Keep a positive attitude; the fact that chronically ill people feel they are living meaningful “successful” points to the role of optimism, attitude and gratitude in staying “young” in the second half of life.

Take good care of your health - by limiting alcohol, moving your body and eating well.

The studies show that it’s never too early to start working on aging well

Dr. McCallister is on 7NEWS at 11 a.m. every Wednesday. If you have a topic or question you would like her to discuss, email 11am@thedenverchannel.com.