Younger, healthy people might not be able to understand and sympathize with how these common ailments of aging affect daily life.

One exhibit this week at the FanFest venue for the UCI Road World Championships gives people a chance to experience what it’s like to grow old and suffer those problems, in just a matter of minutes.

Visitors to FanFest at the Greater Richmond Convention Center can volunteer to put on a specially designed bodysuit and headgear that simulate the experience of having stiff joints; limited mobility and muscle loss; visual conditions such as glaucoma and cataracts; hearing loss and tinnitus; and a condition called aphasia that makes speaking more difficult.

Genworth Financial Inc., the Henrico County-based insurance company, commissioned the exhibit. The company calls it the “Genworth R70i Aging Experience.”

The name is derived from the fact that 70 percent of people over the age of 65 will need some sort of long-term care as they age because of health problems such as those in the simulation.

The exhibit is one part of a public awareness campaign that Genworth, which sells long-term care insurance, has been promoting around the country to draw attention to the needs of an aging U.S. populace.

“We believe it is our responsibility to go out there and raise awareness and start this conversation, and also to build this empathy among younger people about the changes that take place when you age, so they can be more mindful of that,” said Janice Luvera, a global brand leader for Genworth.

She said people often are more comfortable talking about planning for their own death than they are about planning for what may happen as they age and develop health problems.

“We thought we needed to have this compelling and interesting tool to help get people talking about it,” she said.

Applied Minds, a Burbank, Calif.-based engineering, research and design company, created the exhibit for Genworth, including the body suits and headgear that simulate the aging experience.

The 40-pound suits include an exoskeleton that simulates muscle loss and joint deterioration. The helmets simulate partial deafness, ringing ears, loss of vision, and an echo-like effect that simulates aphasia, a slurring of speech caused by difficulty hearing one’s own words.

“From conception to the finished product was about a year’s process,” said Jimmy Hirahara, an industrial designer who worked on the exhibit.

A team of designers, engineers and computer programmers developed the suits, in consultation with physicians and experts on aging.

Genworth first showed the exhibit in early summer at the Aspen Ideas Festival. The company is planning to have the exhibit at other events around the nation.

“At this particular event, we hope thousands of people will come through and see it,” Luvera said.

She said another purpose of the exhibit is to encourage people to adopt healthy lifestyle habits, which can delay and mitigate many of the effects of aging.