Aging Gracefully

Wellness is not just the absence of disease, it is adopting a lifestyle that allows our body to age gracefully. Those who fail to treat their car well and provide adequate maintenance, will need a trade-in sooner than later. A car treated properly may last more than 200,000 miles. We can’t trade in our bodies!

 

We all know "young" 85-year-olds and "old" 60-year- olds. The life expectancy of a 65-year-old man is 80, and a 65-year-old woman is 84. Certainly, genetics and time factor into the aging process, but you can significantly reduce the disability and dependence that occur with aging.

 

Most of the disability and dependency that occur with aging are from chronic diseases and "geriatric syndromes". The CDC reports that up to 70% of physical disability that occurs with aging is from unhealthy lifestyle choices and other behavioral factors that cause or worsen existing chronic diseases and geriatric syndromes.

 

Examples of chronic diseases are high blood pressure, high cholesterol, arthritis and diabetes. Unaddressed, these will lead to other more serious disabling conditions such as kidney failure, heart disease, and stroke.

 

Geriatric syndromes are conditions that become more common as we age. Examples are thinning of bones, wasting and stiffening of muscle, falls, memory loss, balance loss, impairment of vision and hearing, incontinence, sleep disturbance and depression.

 

Your choices will affect every one of these chronic and you will bear the consequences of your choices. Good choices will prevent the conditions from ever occurring, or at least lessen the disability that results when they occur.  Bad choices will cause problems to appear prematurely, progress more rapidly, and cause more disability.
Let's look at the example of falls. Approximately one third of people older than 65 years old will fall each year. One in 10 falls results in a fracture. Risk factors that contribute to falls are changes in posture, gait, strength, balance, vision, cognitive abilities, depression, medications, and environmental factors such as slippery floors etc. Except for the unfortunate circumstance of blindness, every one of these can be improved with choices you make.

 

Good choices can be financially rewarding, by making it possible to discontinue medications through healthy lifestyle changes. This can add up to hundreds of dollars yearly.

 

One success story is a 42-year-old who made modest lifestyle changes and was able to get off all cholesterol and blood pressure medication. Also, both his back and knee pain resolved completely! He felt much better at 42 years old than he had at 30.
Obesity increases your risk of all cancers, especially gastrointestinal cancers. It also causes high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes. It is an independent risk factor for heart disease and significantly contributes to bone and joint pain. This is just a partial list. A 10% reduction in body weight will reduce your one year mortality risk by 20%.

 

So what can you do to correct these causes of ungraceful aging? An individual plan needs to be established and implemented as early as possible, preferably by your forties or fifties. However, it is never too late. At older ages, small changes make a bigger difference than when you are younger!

 

The plan needs to include but is not limited to physical activity, mental activity, and optimal nutrition. This will not be easy because most of us have done our bodies much disservice and developed many bad habits. However, together we can establish priorities and initiate a plan that is not too overwhelming. Change is difficult, but remember, this is a marathon, not a sprint. Small changes are often easy, and over time, add up to big changes.

 

So the choice is up to you. Optimal wellness will maximize the quality and independence of your "golden years".