Canada is one of the countries where baby-boomers and retirees worry least about the effects of aging on the image they project, according to an international study on retirement realses by insurance firm AXA Canada.

Only 20% of working people and 41% of retirees believe that they must do everything they can to prevent the effects of aging. The same applies to their German (27% of working people and 45% of retirees) and Australian (20% of working people and 33% of retirees) counterparts.

This information is from the 2007 AXA Retirement Scope, an international study carried out among 11,590 persons in 16 countries. It is very different in China, where 66% of working people and 73% of retirees believe they must do everything they can to prevent the effects of aging on their appearance.

Only 4.5% of Canadians say that they have turned to cosmetic surgery. Even though 9.5% of Canadian respondents insist they intend to resort to this type of treatment some day to change some aspect of their physical appearance they do not like, only 5.5% of them would do it to look younger.

This represents a significant contrast with Australia and the Asian countries, whose respondents are more likely to turn to cosmetic surgery. 9.5% of Australians say they have already undergone this type of treatment, while the Japanese intend to do it to change an aspect of their physical appearance they do not like (21.5%) or to look younger (13.5%).

As it is the case for the international average, nearly one third of Canadians (31% of working people and 42% of retirees), believe that cosmetic surgery is only for the rich and famous. Canada is also one of the countries where cosmetic surgery is least associated with rejuvenation (21%), a point on which Canadians agree with the other Anglo-Saxon countries. It is interesting to note that, contrary to the rest of Canada, Quebecers are more likely to believe that cosmetic surgery can rejuvenate a person’s appearance (40%).

Canada is also one of the countries that is less likely to consume anti-aging cosmetic products, and is within the international average for this item. Only 18.5% of Canadians use such products. Generally speaking, retirees tend to be more concerned about the image they project than working people.

The AXA Retirement Scope is an international study whose objectives are exploring and understanding the attitudes of the population towards retirement and comparing its image to its reality. The study, whose sample includes both working people and retirees, was carried out among 11,590 persons in 16 countries, from August 14 to September 10, 2006, in Canada, by a consortium of research companies led by the GFK Group and represented by CROP in Canada.

The analyzed countries are: Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, the Netherland, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States and Singapore.