The Baby Boomer Generation is getting older and the Boomer generation is not going to be like grandparents of yesteryear. Many people are still working, thriving, and determined to live the rest of their life as the best of their lives.
However, there is a growing concern amongst the health care community and experts about the role that obesity and chronic disease will have on our aging population.
According to an article put out by Kaiser Health News, the concern is not that the baby boomer generation will die young. It is that they will be disabled and face enormous health care costs that will overwhelm their systems and also their families.
“We’re potentially going to have a larger, older population that’s more likely to be obese, surviving longer with cardiovascular disease and other chronic diseases,” said Dr. Virginia Chang a demographer at New York University. “I think that the primary fallout from increasing obesity is probably not going to be some huge hit to mortality. It’s going to be disability”.
What a sobering reality. Instead of thriving and living life to the fullest in your 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s, people will be confined to bed and disabled all because they did not take care of themselves when they had the opportunity. Yes, aging is a natural process and there are many biological processes that go along with aging but taking care of your health as you get older can prevent many of these diseases and problems people commonly associate with aging.
Scientists are starting to realize that inflammation plays a large role in how we age. Inflammation naturally increases as we age, but that process is exacerbated by belly fat. Remember fat is metabolically active and produces hormones and chemicals. These chemicals cause further inflammation around the body. According to the Kaiser article, this is one reason that scientists think men and women who are obese are more likely to develop dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and certain cancers.
The Bad News: Being obese will cost you AND your family
One study found that while obese 70-year olds live as long as healthy weight 70 year olds, they will spend $39,000 MORE on health care. If you are unhealthy, unable to work, and take care of yourself chances are that you will have to move out of your home and into one of those nursing homes.
If a nursing home is not an option, then if you have children you will have to move in with them and have them take care of you and no parent wants to be a burden on their children.
The Good News: You can prevent a lot of this by being proactive and taking responsibility for your health
I train mostly older adults and honestly many of them move better and are stronger than some of the younger people I have trained. It’s because they have made the choice to be proactive about staying healthy and to LIVE BETTER.
You do not need to embark on a restrictive diet and annihilating exercise routine. My programs are meant to work for ANYBODY. My 5 Nutrition Principles are designed to be used in the real world and for real life so that it is SUSTAINABLE.
As Brian Grasso says: Simplicity plus Consistency Equals Results.
With my Live Better Transformation Plan once you finish the initial 12 weeks, my recommendation for older adults is to go into the Build Strength program because we lose muscle rapidly as we age. That doesn’t HAVE to happen and you can prevent many of the problems associated with aging such as: falls, mobility problems, and loss of strength by incorporating strength training into your routine.
It’s Never Too Early to start taking care of yourself
If you are in your 30’s, 40’s, and 50’s it isn’t too early to be thinking about the process of aging. I have heard from people who work in cardiac rehab that now they are getting a lot of 30 and 40 year olds into their clinics because people just aren’t taking care of themselves like they should. You should also be concerned with improving your nutrition and being active so you can AVOID many of these issues and continue to thrive in your life.
Stop thinking you’re too old or it’s too late. As long as you are still alive, there is still time and you can make the CHOICE to LIVE BETTER!
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