Guest Blog: Boomers Getting Fatter and Broker?
The following is a guest blog from Anthony Cirillo:
An article in my local paper in Charlotte, N.C. published in July read: Some N.C. boomers: Fat and flat broke.
It caused me to pause. Some of the highlights:
- State health statistics show the 55- to 64-year-old Tar Heels exercise less than younger groups. They are more likely than any other group to gamble once or more a week.
- Illegal drug use by people in their 50s has increased by 46 percent over a five-year period, from about one in 20 to about one in 10. Combine that with the prescription medicines they take and the interactions they might cause and you have a toxic stew brewing.
- More than a third of Tar Heels between 55 and 64 are obese. They're not only fatter than those a decade younger but also heftier than those a decade older. 85 percent of first-wave boomers in the state admit to getting effectively no exercise.
- About three-quarters of baby boomers say their retirement plans have been negatively affected by the current financial downturn.
It is not a stretch to think that these statistics are true for your state as well. Researchers say this all will probably increase the demand for Medicaid and Medicare services as the boomers move into retirement years. And that will affect EVERYONE.
"My sense is that we are in denial about aging," said Joan Pellettier, director of the Triangle Area Agency on Aging. Experts on aging say the advice on healthy aging is much the same for older people as for anyone else: Eat less, move more. But a particular emphasis on balance and mobility can help ward off the falls and fractures that can be particularly devastating to older adults. Pellettier also urges boomers to start thinking about long-term care insurance.
F.D.R. said: "Old age is like everything else. To make a success of it, you've got to start young."
With a health ranking of 37th in the World Health Organization and a society plagued with chronic conditions, I contend that long-term care will not lack for residents/patients. That is the good news. That said, the industry might indeed be overwhelmed and underpaid for their efforts to care for so many.
Become part of the solution. Take an active role in educating and preparing your communities now to deal with the financial, physical, and emotional aspects for aging. Don't let them continue to always be crisis situations where your facility is waiting to catch them when they fall but not doing anything about preventing them from falling in the first place, both literally and figuratively.
Anthony Cirillo, FACHE, ABC is a speaker, health care consultant and influential blogger on elder issues. His company, Fast Forward consults with organizations around experience management and strategic marketing. He is the author of "Who Moved My Dentures?" and will speak at the AHCA conference in October. For more information, go to www.4wardfast.com and www.anthonycirillo.com.