user: Q: In denial that you’ve reached middle age? A survey identifies some telltale signs.

“A variety of factors — including more active lifestyles and healthier living — mean that people find their attitudes towards getting older are changing. Over half of the people surveyed didn’t feel that there even was such a thing as ‘middle age’ anymore,” Paul Keenan, head of communications at Benenden Health, said in a statement when the survey was released in August.

“Being ‘old’ appears to be a state of mind rather than being a specific age,” he added. “People no longer see ‘middle age’ as a numerical milestone and don’t tend to think of themselves as ‘old’ as they hit their fifties and beyond. I’m 54 myself, with the mind-set of a thirty-something — perhaps sometimes even that of a teenager!”

So beyond comfort shoes and ear hair, what are some signs that you’re no longer young? Here’s the full list offered up by respondents to the survey. Some are particularly British (e.g., joining the National Trust, taking a flask of tea on a day out). But you’ll get the point.

●Losing touch with everyday technology such as tablets and TVs

●Finding you have no idea what “young people” are talking about

●Groaning when you bend down

●Not remembering the name of any modern bands

●Talking a lot about your joints/ailments

●Getting more hairy — ears, eyebrows, nose, face, etc.

●Thinking policemen/teachers/doctors look really young

●Preferring a night in with a board game than a night on the town

●You don’t know any songs in the top 10

●Choosing clothes and shoes for comfort rather than style

●Taking a flask of tea on a day out

●Obsessive gardening or bird feeding

●Thinking there is nothing wrong with wearing an anorak

●Misplacing your glasses, bag, car keys, etc.

●Complaining about the rubbish on television these days

●Gasping for a cup of tea

●Getting bed socks for Christmas and being very grateful

●Taking a keen interest in “The Antiques Road Show”

●When you start complaining about more things

●You move from Radio 1 to Radio 2

●Being told off for politically incorrect opinions

●Flogging the family car for something sportier

●When you can’t lose six pounds in two days anymore

●You get shocked by how racy music videos are

●Taking a keen interest in the garden

●Buying travel sweets for the car

●Considering going on a “no children” cruise for a holiday

●When you know your alcohol limit

●Obsessively recycling/ knowing the collection dates

●Always carrying a handy pack of tissues

●Falling asleep after one glass of wine

●Spending more money on face creams/anti-aging products

●Preferring a Sunday walk to a lie-in

By comparison to those who participated in the British survey, Americans have a different take on when middle age begins, at least according to a paper published in 2011 by researchers at Florida State University. That study, which used nationally representative data collected in 1995-1996 and 2004-2006, showed that the perceived beginning of middle age varied, not surprisingly, depending on the age group that was providing the estimate. Overall, the researchers said, most people think of middle age as beginning at 44 and ending at 60.

“People’s views varied quite a lot,” associate professor of sociology Anne Barrett said in a video about her research. “ Some people said at 25, some people said at age 75 or even 80.”

In addition, people of color and those with fewer economic resources tended to see middle age starting earlier in life, Barrett said, and both women and men view the beginning and end of middle age as occurring earlier for women than for men.

A: Hint: Do you obsess over gardening and birds? Or are you now craving a nap?


Q: U.S. credit rating facing another cut soon, Bank of America warns

America’s credit rating is likely to take another hit before the end of 2011, threatening renewed market turmoil, Bank of America Merrill Lynch economists warn.

In a report on Friday, BofA Merrill said it sees little hope of a breakthrough by the congressional “super committee” on deficit reduction. The bipartisan group has until Nov. 23 to identify $1.5 trillion in deficit cuts over the next 10 years -- through reduced spending, tax hikes or both.

“The ‘not-so-super’ deficit commission is very unlikely to come up with a credible deficit-reduction plan,” wrote Ethan Harris, North American economist at BofA Merrill. “The committee is more divided than the overall Congress.”

Ratings firm Standard & Poor’s on Aug. 6 shocked global markets by cutting its U.S. debt rating to AA+ from AAA, marking the first time in history that the nation’s creditworthiness was considered less than top-rung.

S&P at the time said that the plan Congress had just worked out to raise the federal debt ceiling fell short of what was needed to stabilize the nation's longer-term finances.

The ratings firms are likely to draw the same conclusion if the super committee fails in its task, Harris warned. “The credit rating agencies have strongly suggested that further rating cuts are likely if Congress does not come up with a credible long-run plan,” Harris wrote. “Hence, we expect at least one credit downgrade in late November or early December when the super committee crashes.”

But it’s unclear whether the ratings firms would want to move that quickly, based on the language they’ve used in recent months when assessing the U.S. debt situation.

S&P has a “negative” outlook on its U.S. rating. The firm warned when it cut the rating to AA+ on Aug. 5 that “we could lower the long-term rating to 'AA' within the next two years if we see that less reduction in spending than agreed to, higher interest rates, or new fiscal pressures during the period result in a higher general government debt trajectory than we currently assume in our base case.”

S&P’s two main rivals -- Moody’s Investors Service and Fitch Ratings -- still rate the U.S. AAA. But Moody’s, like S&P, has a “negative” outlook on its rating.

Moody’s in early August said that while the U.S. “exhibits the characteristics necessary for a Aaa rating, a rating downgrade could be triggered before 2013 by (1) any weakening of fiscal discipline between now and then or (2) a significant deterioration in the economic outlook resulting in adverse fiscal implications that are not offset.”

Fitch has a “stable” outlook on its rating, meaning it seems unlikely to lead the way on a cut.

Even if he’s right about another reduction in the nation’s debt rating, Harris said any drop in the stock market would likely be less severe than the massive sell-off that struck after S&P’s move. The Dow Jones industrial average tumbled 635 points, or 5.6%, on Aug. 8.

The market’s dive at the time followed a 10.5% plunge in the prior two weeks as the stalemate in Congress over the debt ceiling eroded investor confidence, Harris noted.

“After a month of dysfunction in Washington, the downgrade was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” Harris wrote. “We expect a smaller hit to the markets and confidence with the next downgrade.”

Super committee gets an earful

GOP lays groundwork for healthcare repeal

Republicans in Congress are in a quandary on jobs

Photo: The bipartisan "super commitee" on deficit reduction holding its first meeting on Sept. 8. Credit: Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

A:

assistant: U.S. credit rating could suffer another downgrade before the end of the year, Bank of America Merrill Lynch warns