Tipping the Scale: Obesity in Baby Boomers
In the 1960s and 1970s, there was a Cultural Revolution brewing in America. Many people were products of war, despair and the Great Depression and so they all longed for days of peace, love and the American dream.
Young people were busy then, brimming with ideals about clean air, clean water, a cleaner Many have assumed the largest generation in US history, as it moves up the age escalator will be the healthiest generation of aging adults because they grew up in wealthier times, exercised more, smoked less, and were more knowledgeable about health. This assumption has been proven wrong.
Studying the dynamics of health of this population is more challenging than any other generation due to their size, composition, earlier life experiences, and exposure to differing historical events.
For instance, there is an apparent paradox in the trends of increasing exercise levels and a significant rise in obesity over the last few decades. In order to explain these two differing patterns, changes in leisure-time physical activity, work-related activity, eating habits, fast-food super-sizing, and environmental factors influencing healthy lifestyles are taken into account. So even if the boomer generation as a whole is increasing their exercise levels, the eating habits of North Americans, and in particular, the quantity and quality of fast-food consumption both in restaurants and at home cancels out the benefits of any healthy exercise regime.
We live in a pressure-cooker technological world of high prices, advertising, TV, cell phones, taxes, pollution, long work hours, dual wage earner families, occupational disruptions, and affordable housing shortages. These factors contribute to a fast pace of living and thus higher obesity in conjunction with the availability of cheap but poor quality fast foods.
Overweight and obese 'baby boomers' are entering their senior years with weight-related problems that are plaguing their 'golden years' with problems, increasing the need for nursing homes and medical care. 62% of 50-64 year olds claim to have at least one of the following obesity related chronic conditions: heart disease, hypertension, cancer, arthritis and high cholesterol.
Already faced with a nursing care shortage in America, experts are projecting a need for an additional 10-25 percent of nursing home care, and an explosion in weight-related Type 2 diabetes. Studies show that overweight parents are also producing, via poor eating habits and lack of exercise regimens, overweight children with an increase of Type 2 diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes is more common than type 1 diabetes, where in both cases the body has trouble controlling blood sugar due to problems with insulin, a hormone that controls blood sugar.
Baby boomers as a generation are defined as trend-setters; so why not lead the pack by getting 30 minutes of exercise every day, cutting down on fatty foods, double your portions of fruits and veggies and show your children how to lead a fitter, healthier life.
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