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Are the Baby Boomers Healthier Than Previous Generations?
Are the Baby Boomers Healthier Than Previous Generations?
September is Healthy Aging Month. Beginning in the 1960s, experts began predicting that the baby boom generation would be healthier than their parents and grandparents. The boomers were into jogging and aerobics and health food, and benefited from advances in health care.
But as the decades passed, it became apparent that this prediction wasnât quite coming true. A June 2022 study from Penn State University reported that todayâs older adults are more likely to be living with multiple chronic health conditions, including heart disease, hypertension, stroke, diabetes, arthritis, lung disease, certain cancers, depression symptoms and cognitive impairment. âFor example,â said study author Steven Haas, âwhen comparing those born between 1948 and 1965âreferred to as baby boomersâto those born during the later years of the Great Depression (between 1931 and 1941) at similar ages, baby boomers exhibited a greater number of chronic health conditions. Baby boomers also reported two or more chronic health conditions at younger ages.â
What is behind this trend? Some experts have pointed out that the pandemic has taken its toll. But the pattern was emerging well before 2020. âEven before the COVID-19 pandemic, we were beginning to see declines in life expectancy among middle-aged Americans, a reversal of more than a century-long trend,â said Haas, who is an associate professor of psychology and sociology at Penn State.
Many experts have pointed to lifestyle factors. The early promise that baby boomers would be more active than their parents hasnât really panned out. Their jobs were on average less physicalâyet often stressful. TV, computers and now smartphones tempted many boomers into a couch potato lifestyle. Despite the health food trend of the generation, boomers in fact ate more prepared and fast foodâand a lot of it, as portion size grew. The opioid epidemic also took its toll.
Yet the picture isnât that simple. There is actually a âgood news/bad newsâ angle. Texas State University professor Nicholas Bishop, who also worked on the study, says that while advances in medicine have allowed people to live longer, a longer life doesnât necessarily equal a healthier life. A person may survive an illness that would have been fatal for their grandparentsâand go on to develop other conditions. As Bishop points out, âAdvanced medical treatments may enable individuals to live with multiple chronic conditions that once would have proven fatal, potentially increasing the likelihood that any one person experiences multimorbidity.â
Good medical care is an important part of healthy agingâbut lifestyle is equally important. Experts list things that promote good health as we enter old age:
Physical activity. Exercise is often called the No. 1 factor in healthy aging, and for good reason! Staying physically active helps us prevent and manage many health conditionsâincluding the ones mentioned above in the Penn State Study. A rigorous exercise routine isnât required to provide these benefits. Even walking, housework, gardening and any other gentle activity that gets us off the couch provides a dose of valuable physical activity.
Good nutrition. Studies consistently show that eating plant-based foods, healthy proteins and fats, and whole grains lowers the risk of disease and helps us maintain a healthy weight. Ask your doctor to recommend a diet that is right for your health condition and any dietary restrictions you might have.
Staying mentally active and socially connected. Our brains need exercise, too. Spending time doing things that interest you, learning new things, and getting out and about can stave off cognitive decline. Socialization is important throughout life and while it might take a little more effort to find companionship in later years, itâs well worth it, as loneliness raises the risk of depression, dementia, inflammation and a host of other ailments.
Getting adequate sleep. Natural changes in our sleep cycle, the effects of medications, and certain physical illnesses can keep us awake at night as we grow older. But sleep problems can be treated; talk to your doctor if youâre experiencing insomnia, sleep apnea or another problem.
Managing health conditions. As we face health challengesâand most of us will in our later yearsâwe can protect our health by adhering to the lifestyle choices suggested above, by having regular medical appointments and following our doctorâs advice, and by taking medications correctly, managing stress, not smoking, and avoiding excess alcohol.
Older adults can share this information with the younger generation, as well. Healthy aging is a worthy goal for individuals and our societyâand the sooner we think about it, the better.
Source: IlluminAge AgeWise with information from Penn State University