Healthy Aging

Staying Healthy After 50

ILC-CEO Dr. Robert N. Butler was recently interviewed for a segment about health after age 50 for a special series on NBC's Today show titled "Just Getting Started: Life After 50".

41% of U.S. adults are over 50, and many of them are the most active and fit they've ever been in their lives. True to form, boomers over 50 don't feel like they are slowing down at all. In fact, the YMCA has seen their older adult membership grow by 50% since 2004.

Dr. Butler, who recently penned the tome "The Longevity Revolution"— a wake-up call to society that we are in the midst of a massive demographic shift — points out that a baby boomer turns 50 every 7.6 seconds. And while older Americans are more healthy than their parents or grandparents were, high obesity rates, diabetes, and heart disease are still problems, with at least 36% of boomers having some form of cardiovascular disease. These health issues keep the U.S. ranking 48th internationally in overall life expectancy.

Tennis great Martina Navritolova, a spokesperson for AARP — which itself recently turned 50 — also spoke about ways to remain fit after 50. Five excellent ways, she said, are to:

• walk
• strengthen your core
• stretch
• eat smart
• do less more often

You can watch the full segment, online, by clicking here.

Related Links: Health After 50: Just Getting Started (Today Show on NBC)

Keywords: healthy aging, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, AARP

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