At around age 60, "muscles really start to break down," say Kathryn Starr, an aging researcher, "and because of that, the protein needs of an older adult actually increase."

In older children, however, the early things they can remember become more adult like in the way they are formed.

However, most adult children provide every bit as much care and support to their aging parents as the case in the "good old days", and most older people do not feel abandoned.