Young Georgians in college may still have a while before they worry about wrinkles and arthritis, but the University’s Institute of Gerontology is encouraging people to consider similar issues.

Anne Glass, assistant director of the Institute of Gerontology, first conceptualized “Aging 101 for Georgia,” a film about aging in the state, when working for the Gerontology Education and Training Alliance of Georgia, a statewide effort to educate people about aging issues. The film will be previewed today at 6 p.m. in room 175 of the Coverdell Center.

“The idea for this film came to me in a kind of vision,” Glass said. “If you had people in a room for an hour, what would you want them to learn about aging?”

Glass involved other members of the Athens community in the making of her film, which features University sources and testimony from several elderly adults, many from the greater Athens area.

Mary Ann Johnson, professor of Foods and Nutrition, also appears in the film.

“I talk about nutrition in the film and about the foods and nutrients for older people,” she said. “Specifically, they have to watch their weight, counting calories like anybody else, and their calcium levels.”

Glass said talking with older adults was essential in making the film; “talking with these people was invaluable.”

Glass said she believes people of all different interests and backgrounds can learn something by attending the preview and discussion.

“It sounds like a movie I should definitely see,” said Daniel Promislow, a professor in the University’s Institute of Gerontology.

“We all need to understand our society,” Johnson said.

“One in 10 people in Georgia are 65 years and older right now, and that number is going to increase to one in five, so we need to understand more about aging.”