Today is my birthday, so maybe that’s why I paid extra attention to a headline that said: Will Baby Boomers live as long as expected?
The article claims that in spite of better medicine, our generation isn’t necessarily benefiting in longevity. Most of the reasons are preventable: obesity, smoking and suicide, along with cardiovascular disease and lack of mobility, which often occur as a result of obesity.
To me, it’s a no-brainer to make healthy habits a priority and enjoy a longer life.
Perhaps most startling, the article stated that health problems resulting from obesity should have a greater impact on the younger generations because current youth are more likely to have been obese as children than Boomers were. Again, largely preventable through healthy eating and exercise.
Some health conditions that are are mostly beyond our control include cancer and declining cognitive function. If I have to worry about something, now I know what it is.
Really, I have nothing to complain about. This afternoon I stopped to chat with a neighbor who I’m sure is younger than I am, but who has a major health problem every time I see her.
Something else I read recently confirmed that the Phoenix area, really the whole urban corridor from Prescott to Tucson, is getting warmer due to development. Anyone who has lived here long enough realizes that summer nights don’t cool off anymore. As concrete replaces farm fields, the area retains more heat. The study suggested that by 2050, temperatures would average 10 degrees higher than now. I wondered if I’d still be around when 117-degree days are the norm. It’s within my first century…so maybe.
My (first) Century 