Fitness in Mid-Life - Good For You, Good For the Nation

Do you find yourself wondering what kind of health care system will be in place when you are elderly? If you’re a baby boomer, essentially anyone between the ages of 45 and 63 in 2009, the thought has likely crossed your mind. Perhaps you’ve lost one or both parents already, and have seen firsthand how expensive medical and nursing home care can be. Hospital stays, surgical procedures, prescriptions, and doctor’s visits can easily wipe out a family’s lifetime savings. This is true even if you have health insurance. You may be one millions of Americans who cannot afford comprehensive health insurance, hoping that your health holds up for as long as possible. Even if you have excellent health insurance coverage, will the care that you need be there for you in the future? You have every right to be concerned. The baby boomer generation is like a tidal wave of soon-to-be senior citizens, a massive swell of 77 million mid-life Americans. The crushing swell of boomer seniors will begin its crest over the next five years, and will continue to crash against the battered American healthcare system for 20 more years without interruption. The results could be catastrophic for our already-strained health care systems.You ask, “What can I do about it?” I can only respond, “There’s plenty you can do about it!” The following are simple answers that should not surprise you. You’ve heard them already. You’ve read about them countless times. Bookstore bookshelves have grooves worn into them from the countless books that have been written on the subject of health, diet, and exercise. When reading the following points, think of it as a national and personal priority.It’s something you can do for yourself, and for a healthcare system that is woefully unprepared to handle the coming wave of senior citizens:- Get fit, and stay fit. Getting and remaining fit in mid life will benefit your senior self, decrease the odds of chronic illness, and help you to maintain bone mass and muscle strength.- Do resistance training. Weight training in mid life helps to strengthen your bones and muscles, increase energy, and improve overall strength. Seniors who continue some form of resistance training are stronger, more mobile, and are less likely to be the victims of falls.- Stop smoking!- Lose the weight. Obesity causes more illness and chronic medical conditions than we can list here. Most people who try to lose weight rarely succeed because:
- they do not set realistic weight loss goals,
- they do not have the right kind of information to help them meet their weight loss goals,
- they don’t change their eating and lifestyle habits, or
- they don’t make a true commitment to lose those extra pounds.It can be done, and you can do it. Get the right kind of information from a weight loss or nutrition expert.Talk to a fitness professional and create a weight-loss plan tailored to your needs and abilities. The more information that you have on diet and exercise for weight loss, the better you’ll be equipped to succeed. You can be a part of the health care solution rather than a part of the problem. Live out your mid-life years to your benefit, and increase your chances of good health as a senior citizen. Create the healthy habits now that will carry into the next phase of your life. Let’s face it: medical situations are unavoidable. To do nothing about your health is simply opening the door wider to let those emergency room visits happen to you. Get fit. Walk, bike, or run. Lift some weights now and then. Lose the extra weight. Stop smoking, and handle all else in moderation. Down the road a few years, you will be glad you did. Your country’s health care system will be glad you did as well.