40, the new 30

I've heard a couple of people mention that "40 is the new 30" lately. (Which is news to my ears, seeing as I am almost 41.) They swore it was a scientific fact. So, I looked it up on the net -- and it's true.

An international team of researchers from the University of New York in Stony Brook and the Vienna Institute of Demography at the Austrian Academy of Sciences have redefined what it means to grow old, report Reuters and Britain's Telegraph.

The new definition: It's not how long you've been alive that counts, but rather how many years you have left. As life expectancy has lengthened, the whole idea of middle age has shifted, making 40 the new 30. And 50 is the new 40. It's true! People who are nearing retirement are as vigorous and healthy as middle-aged people were a century ago.