Introduction. For the elderly ‘to be healthy’ becomes the most important need. In this period of life the quality of life is of particular importance, it is even more important than the life expectancy. Aim. The aim of this study is to determine the method of health valuation by the elderly. Material and methods. The study was conducted in 2010 among the students of Third Age Universities in Lublin macro-region. The age of the examined varied from 54 to 85 years. The research was realized by means of a survey method. The standardized questionnaire Health Criteria List by Z. Juczyński and an original questionnaire were used as research tools. The analysis included 504 sets of questionnaires. The statistical analysis was performed using a U test by Mann-Whitney. Results and conclusions. The health criteria ranking allowed to determine the differences/similarities of the choices made by the respondents. The obtained results indicate a similar understanding of health among respondents regardless of their age, the presence of the disease as well as marital status. Statistical analysis showed that for the respondents ‘to be healthy’ first means ‘to live into old age’, ‘feel happy most of the time’ and ‘have all parts of the body agile’. Older people attribute the greatest importance to health understood as a goal and status. Sequentially respondents identified health with certain attributes, such as ‘to have all parts of the body agile’, ‘do not get sick’, ‘do not feel physical ailments’. The results may be helpful in the health policy planning process as well as social security and family policy planning.

Key words: health, elderly, old age.