Fat and Fit at odds with healthy aging

As someone who pays attention to aging issues I incorrectly assumed that other baby boomers were similarly attracted to news and information about healthy longevity. After all, we have at our finger tips, via technology, access to remarkable research about the aging process and how to manage our health. No other generation has enjoyed similar resources that hold promise to redefine what it means to be an elder in American society.

But, oops, I was naive. A recent news story pointed out that not only are we not taking advantage of the wealth of information available, we are, in fact, brazenly ignoring it and passively winning (if that's the right expression) the distinction of being the nation’s most obese generation. 

  

Obesity is the number one cause of preventable death in the U.S. Only a very small percentage of our population suffers from metabolic obesity. What’s up with the rest of us? I  Am thinking that overweight baby boomers are subject to the same phenomenon that's led to Italy (home of the famed Mediterranean diet) being identified as the fattest country in Europe.  Researchers say that Italians still eat the same healthy food but now do so in front of the television.  Clearly, a sedentary life in front of a screen ... any screen ... threatens health at almost any age.

Friends, it doesn't take much to battle this bulge! Experts say that 2.5 hours of aerobic exercise over the course of a week will significantly and positively affect the body and mind. Any kind of movement that increases heart rate and oxygen flow to the brain will do the trick. Walk, swim, bike, row, skate. Move with your own muse, but for heaven’s sake move!

Obesity from poor diet and/or lack of exercise can lead to an encounter with heart disease, the nation’s number one killer and leading cause of hospitalization on older adults. And that's not the end of it. Think diabetes, severe joint problems that can lead to immobility, digestive ailments and a host of other related maladies.

There is no excuse for us to amble ignorantly down this path. News about health and aging is now on the front pages of daily newspapers and on major news websites. You have to close your eyes and your mind to miss it.

There are events in life over which we have little control. Things happen. Therefore, it is empowering as well as beneficial to take charge of that which we can manipulate to our direct benefit. Committing to a few hours of potentially enjoyable exercise and managing our daily diets is an affordable opportunity with huge health benefits.

Baby boomers, we've got a brass ring within reach. Remember when we were anxious to grab that prize on the merry-go-round? I do, and I am still reaching, but now it may mean the difference between life and death.