Top 10 Health Issues of Concern to Baby Boomers
Knowledge aids prevention, so if we know what is looming, we can anticipate and take action. When it comes to our health, what will we face as we age? An interesting article entitled To Your Health: Top 10 Health Concerns of Baby Boomers appeared recently on the website www.delmartimes.net. According to author Wilfredo Abesamis, M.D., with Scripps Health, the top 10 (and associated statistics) are as follows:
- Type 2 Diabetes (Those aged 65-74 are more than 13 times as likely to suffer from diabetes than those younger than 45.)
- Cardiovascular Disease (Leading cause of death for both men and women over age 60.)
- Cancer (Second leading cause of death among people age 65 and older.)
- Depression (Affects more than 6.5 million Americans aged 65 or older.)
- Eye Problems (Cataracts affect nearly 20.5 million Americans age 40 and older, and by age 80, half of all Americans have them.)
- Alzheimer’s (Sixth sixth leading cause of death in the U.S.)
- Arthritis and Joint Replacement
- Osteoporosis (After age 50, as many as half of all women will break a bone due to osteoporosis.)
- Flu/Pneumonia (Among the top 10 causes of death for older adults.)
- “Sandwich Generation Stress
What to do? For most of these conditions the solution to avoiding trouble is almost annoyingly familiar: lose weight, exercise, improve your diet, stop smoking. We’ve all heard this advice a million times. The key is becoming more and more proactive, not less, as we age and health risks rise. What used to be easy may now be more difficult because of achy joints or fatigue. But it truly is a matter of life and death—and of quality of life. Don’t we all want to be vital and active, and enjoy life to the fullest, as long as we possibly can?
Get regular health screenings to catch and treat problems early. Ask more questions of your doctor, read about and become more aware of health issues and trends. Find out if you should be taking certain vitamins and supplements to help current conditions or as a preventative measure. Get a FitBit or similar health tracking device and try to increase your daily steps by simply walking more. Would alternative therapies such as massage, acupuncture, or even hypnotherapy work for you? Ask what has helped other people you know. Check out opportunities for health-related activities that could improve your social life (and help you avoid the dangers of depression and loneliness), such as classes at the local Y or at church. Come up with a plan, write it down, share it with your family, ask for others to join you at the gym or on a walk. Adopt a shelter dog! which will give you a reason to walk and a friend to keep you company—if you can keep up with a pet of course and have the right accommodations. Make sure your vaccinations are up to date, and if you haven’t gotten a flu vaccine in the past, definitely start now. Stop being afraid to ask for help if you are a stressed caregiver; there are a lot of resources available. Take action: Your life and health are gifts to be treasured and carefully protected.
By Cherie R. Blazer
Cherie is a late bloomer Boomer, born at the tail end of the Boomer generation. She was playing with Barbies while her older sisters marched on Washington and fought for equal rights, but watched and learned. Now she is an empty nester with a whole new future to explore and share at www.BoomerConnections.com! As “Philosopher in Chief” Cherie merely wants to change the world with this blog: to encourage those of us in the midst of our “second act” to look at life with new eyes, open to a life filled with new beginnings rather than endings, and to apply all we have learned to a way of living that is more meaningful and profound. There is SO much to live for, up until the very end.