Written in understandable language, this book describes the ways in which our body changes with age and outlines some practical ways to counter many of these changes. It begins by discussing the aging process in general terms and why some people seem much younger than others of the same chronological age. After a presentation of general characteristics of the aging body, subsequent chapters focus on what lies behind the aging of specific parts of the body and how the reader can counteract or slow down the aging process through lifestyle changes. The text illustrates how some seemingly quite different aging changes, for example skin wrinkles and high blood pressure, are due to very similar underlying mechanisms. Although not focusing on disease, the book deals with a number of conditions, e.g., hypertension, arthritis, Type II diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease, which affect many older adults. A concluding chapter pulls together many of the details presented earlier in the book and offers some practical advice for navigating the aging process.

As both a professional anatomist and a gerontologist, the author is well qualified to write a book on the aging body. Forty years as a professor at the University of Michigan Medical School, he served as Chairman of the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology and also Director of the Institute of Gerontology. For several decades he conducted research on the aging of muscle. He is a past-president of the American Association of Anatomists and of the Association of Anatomy, Cell Biology and Neurobiology Chairpersons.