Women over 60 feel much healthier and happier living alone and
revel in their lifestyle as so-called senior singletons, a study
showed on Thursday.
A classic example was 79-year-old former Bond girl and
"Avengers" TV star Honor Blackman who said: "What I've learnt from
my two marriages and divorces is that I'm not much good at living
with other people."
The study, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council,
looked at the growing social and health implications of people
living alone -- Britain now has more people aged over 60 than it
does children.
"In England, older women rated their health better if they lived
alone," the study concluded.
The twilight years were being enjoyed with gusto by legions of
latter-day Bridget Joneses.
Once alone, their relief was palpable, especially if they had
spent years looking after ailing husbands.
"In England and Wales, older women living alone reported better
self-rated health than married women of the same age," said
Professor Emily Grundy of the Centre for Population Studies at the
London School of Hygiene and Medicine.
"One reason might be that some of the married older women may
have caring responsibilities for their spouses which might affect
their self-rated health," Grundy said.
The older generation in Northern Europe were generally more
content with their lot, the study also found.
"Older people in Scandinavia were happier than in other regions
of Europe. In Scandinavia, there are generous welfare systems,"
said Grundy, whose centre conducted the research for the Economic
and Social Research Council.
The Daily Telegraph newspaper picked Honor Blackman as
a perfect case study to illustrate the report with the actress
confessing that life with one love forever could be a trifle
tedious.
"I suppose it must be possible to be faithful in a long-term
relationship, I cannot imagine how you could do it though. And I'm
not sure I'd want it actually. Wouldn't it be a bit dull?"
(China Daily November 19, 2007)