Baby “Boomers Doomed to Disability?” – Let’s Prove ‘em Wrong!

"Boomers Doomed to Disability?"

I saw that headline in WebMD yesterday. Of course, it got my attention. How about you?

So I clicked on the link and read the report. To quote, “One in five 60-somethings need help with basic daily activities -- up from 13% just a decade ago. Various disabilities are up 40% to 70% in 60- to 69-year-olds, UCLA researcher Teresa E. Seeman, PhD, and colleagues find.”

Perhaps the author wanted to send a wake-up call. I prefer to view it as a throwing of the gauntlet. And I want us – myself and my readers – to take up the challenge and demonstrate that we are not “doomed to disability”.

While part of how we age is totally beyond our control, much of it is not. The part that is within our control is a matter of the lifestyle choices we make. Please read that sentence again.

Do you want to become part of what the study’s authors suggest could be “harbingers of likely disability trends for the massive baby-boomer generation” with the result that, “ the health care and assistance needs of disabled older Americans could, in the not so distant future, impose heavy burdens on families and society”?

P.S. Can you tell that this report got my Irish up?! Please join me in the battle to not become burdens. You’d better believe I will have more to say about this. Please come back tomorrow.

Tags: avoid disability, boomer wake-up call, age-appropriate exercise, anti-aging supplements, drink in moderation, stop smoking, healthy lifestyle choices, quality of life