The Science of Aging Well: How Your Beliefs Affect Your Health
Today millions of Americans are living longer and some of them are doing amazing things. Thanks to improved healthcare and education, it’s projected that a baby born this year in the U.S. has a 50% likelihood of living past 100.
It’s an exciting promise. However, for too many Americans – especially Millennials and Gen Xer’s – living longer is likely going to be harder.
America is Getting Sicker
Compared to all other wealthy nations, the U.S. now has the lowest life expectancy for both women and men. Despite spending nearly twice as much on health care as other developed nations, our health report is terrible:
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- The U.S. has the highest chronic rates of diseases such as diabetes, cancer, hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases.
- The obesity rate in the U.S. is two times higher than its peer nations and nearly four times higher than in Norway and Switzerland.
- Unsurprisingly, we have the highest number of hospitalizations from preventable causes and the highest rate of avoidable deaths.
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In Serious Health Trouble: Millennials
Millennials are now the largest, most educated generation worldwide. Born from 1981-1996, they make up the largest share of the U.S. population and work force. However, recent data shows that the health of millennials is declining faster than all other age groups.
By age 27, millennial health begins to noticeably decline and one study found that 44% of older millennials have reported being diagnosed with at least one chronic health condition. The rates of hypertension and high cholesterol, Type 2 diabetes, and mental health conditions, such as major depression are much larger than those for Gen X. According to the CDC, 60% of the deaths among millennials, age 25-29, were accidental deaths which included overdoses and suicides. Without intervention, millennial mortality rates climb up by more than 40% compared to Gen-Xers at the same age.
More Disabilities: Gen X
People in their 40s and 50s today may live longer than baby boomers, but they’ll likely do so in worse health and with more disabilities. Gen Xers are in worse physical shape than boomers were at the same age. A University of Southern California research team found that people in their prime working years (ages 20 to 64) experienced increases in the proportion of life spent with a disability. Behind the increasing rate of disabilities for Gen X are links to an obesity rate of over 40 percent for women and men in their 40s and 50s. The reasons “why?” Gen Xers are in worse health are associated with less physical exercise, diet, but are also likely to be associated with socio-economic factors.
Mind The Gap
A recent Harvard article has dampened rosy expectations that living longer, means living better. Medical advances can only go so far to improve life expectancy and the quality of our lives. People who want to work longer may not be able to and many will see their earnings steeply decline. Today companies need to be aware that their millennial and Gen X employees are more susceptible to mental and physical health issues. Priortizing solutions for their worker and making sure that their employees have good disability insurance coverage are steps in the right direction.
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