How Young Do You Feel?

Age is an elusive thing: Your chronological age is definitive, precise, undeniable ... yet older adults consistently think of themselves as 20 percent younger than their years, studies show. To test that premise, we took to the streets in several cities to ask people their “real” age, followed by the age they actually feel, physically and mentally. While our subjects had vastly different life experiences, they also had one thing in common: Almost all of them feel younger than their calendar year, just as the research suggests. Here, they tell us their challenges, dreams and aspirations.

Cynthia Chapman, Tupelo, Mississippi, 60

“I feel great — I lost 138 pounds in two years. I can breathe. And now that I’ve found a new husband, I’m getting to the best part of my journey.”

Martin Jennings, New York City, 63

“I’m not ready to plunge into senior citizenship. I’m still vibrantly, busily active and working and thinking.”

Dan Ota, Pasadena, California, 66

“I work with a bunch of young folks in their 20s, and I ask them, ‘What are you talking about? What does this mean?’ So I feel knowledgeable.”

Marion Margolis, New York City, 80

“I feel 55 because I’m vital. My husband and I are aware that this is the last act. We hope it’s going to be a long act.”

Paul Kim, Los Angeles, 63

“The older you get, you know what life takes. Don’t stay home too much. Much better to be out playing tennis with people.”

Eric Mosley (left), Los Angeles, 71

“I forgot stuff when I was 5 years old. I’ve been forgetting stuff all my life — it’s just now we make a big deal about it.”

Clara Mosley (right), Los Angeles, 81

“My friends aren’t all in my age category. The Gen Zs and millennials are amazing — they keep me current.”

Jane Chase, New York City, 81

“I’ve entered a phase in my life where there are losses, many losses. There’s both grief and a savoring of the last years, a sense of an ending.”

Juan Jimenez, Teaneck, New Jersey, 54

“I have some problems related to an accident. But I also feel my age, because I’ve achieved what I wanted to by now. I’ve had a family, a house. I’ve had a good life.”

Richard Moschetti (left), Philadelphia, 65

“I discovered music at 18, but there’s no reason I have to listen to that music all my life. I want to discover what rebellious 18-year-olds are listening to now.”

Caleb Ballard, (right), Los Angeles, 63

“I was a hellbat. But I just really looked at my life and did a complete 180. I feel better in every single way than I ever have.”

Jocelyn Jerome, New York City, 84

“When I sit down with older people, sometimes friends, and they talk about their age and being ill, that’s just not me. I don’t think about age.”

Marc Chesin, Chandler, Arizona, 68

“I feel younger than I am, because I regularly take 20-plus-mile rides on a nonelectric bike.”