Middle age now `begins at 55`

London -  Middle age starts at the age of 55, much later than what was previously thought, a new study suggests.

According to the survey of 1,000 UK adults aged 50-plus for the Love to Learn online learning website, Britons do not see themselves as elderly until they are nudging 70, the BBC reported.

Previous studies have pinpointed the start of middle age as early as 36.

The research suggests that as the population ages, new cut-off points are being drawn.

According to official national data, there are now more adults over 65 than there are under-16s, the report said.

Although seven out of 10 early 50-somethings quizzed for the survey defined themselves as middle-aged, the average age at which the period of life was perceived to start was 54 years and  347 days old.

However, a sizeable minority, nearly one in five, thought middle age did not begin until after the age of 60.

But almost one in five (19 percent) said that being middle age is a state of mind, rather than something that begins at a certain age, the report said.

The research also asked the panel at what age they thought middle age ends. The average came in at 69 years and 277 days.

This suggests middle age itself now spans 14 years and goes well beyond the government’s planned state pension age of 66, the report said.