John W. Rowe and Robert L. Kahn

In the following viewpoint John W. Rowe and Robert L. Kahn refute the myth that the elderly are in poor health. They contend that the prevalence of many medical conditions, including strokes and emphysema, have declined over recent decades. In addition, the authors assert, life expectancy has increased and seniors are likely to live independent lives well into their seventies or eighties. Rowe, a professor of medicine at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, and Kahn, a professor emeritus of psychology and public health at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, were two of the researchers in the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Successful Aging.

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1. What are the two ways to determine if a person is able...