The Economist recently sat down with the ILC's President & CEO Dr. Robert Butler, interviewing him for their Democracy in America blog. The magazine wanted to know — in “very real medical terms” — how McCain’s age might affect his presidency and how much ageism is a factor in this election.
Butler responded that he has not personally noticed anything in McCain’s behavior that is symptomatic of aging. On the contrary, Butler said, McCain seems remarkably energetic. However, he noted, if McCain were to say something incoherent, fuzzy, or take a long time to answer, it would be very quickly judged, and not only by younger people, but by older people, too.
Older people, Butler reminded, can sometimes be extremely ageist — a projection of their own fears of becoming dependent and sick.
Butler did concede that McCain’s melanoma was something to be followed, and that, statisfically as we get older, we are simply more vultnerable to disease and death.
Butler also reinforced the idea put forth in his new book The Longevity Revolution, that the elderly generally don't vote as a block, and don't recognize their own interests the way other groups do.
Listen to the full 10-minute audio interview, including Dr. Butler's thoughts on older people and the internet, social security, and more.
Read More |
 Jane Brody's Personal Health column in June 24th edition of The New York Times included an excerpt from our issue brief, Growing Older, Straying Strong: Preventing Sarcopenia Through Strength Training. The article, entitled Fit, Not Frail: Exercise as a Tonic for Aging, quotes issue brief author Michael J.Hewitt, Ph.D., and research director for exercise science at Canyon Ranch Health Resort.
Hewitt shows how older people can stave off the muscle-wasting condition known as sarcopenia by doing strengh-training exercises as little as twice a week. Sarcopenia is a significant yet overlooked problem in the older population. Analogous to the loss of bone mass commonly known as osteoporosis, sarcopenia is the loss of muscle mass,which results in the loss of strength. Sarcopenia puts older persons at risk of sustaining a fall or simply being unable to care for themselves. Ultimately, this may require nursing home care. Brody outlined Hewitt's simple and compact Key 3® program, which can be completed in ten minutes using hand-held weights in one’s home. Key 3® is detailed and illustrated in our free, downloadable issue brief. The New York Times article has proven to be a favorite among readers, remaining the "most emailed" article in the health section, and the third "most blogged about" almost a week after publication.
Read More | |
A story last week in The New York Times reporting on a study showing the U.S. spends over twice as much as most other industrialized countries for health care, yet places last in preventing deaths, was answered by members of the ILC’s World Cities Project. In a letter to the editor, co-directors Victor G. Rodwin, Ph.D. and Michael K. Gusmano, Ph.D., and researcher Daniel Weisz, M.D., reminded readers and policy makers that, while it is important to compare health care costs and quality, we must look beyond the numbers in order to make sense of the reasons behind the trends.
The mission of the World Cities Project, a joint effort with New York University's Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service and Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, is to compare and analyze health, social services, and quality of life for persons age 65 in the cities of New York, London, Paris and Tokyo. Their research has shown that two key factors — access to disease prevention services, and improvements in social and environmental health factors — are critical to improving overall population health. One way access can be improved, they argue, is through universal health care coverage.
Read More |
Print Story
Email Story
RSS Feed