Jill Burcum
Apr. 30, 2001
The generation that once didn't trust anyone over 30 is
now hitting an age where their bodies are starting to show signs of wear and tear.
Baby boomers, the largest and perhaps most influential
generation in history, are entering their 40s and 50s. While their impact on our medical
care system has been extensively debated, little has been written about their overall
health in general and the kinds of physical challenges and changes they are starting to
see in their bodies.
Yale University professor Dr. Brian Peck, however, is
pioneering a new specialty: boomer medicine. In his new book, "The Baby Boomer Body
Book: The Complete Health Reference for Our Generation," (Sourcebooks Inc.; 448
pages, $21.95) Peck, an expert in chronic diseases and a baby boomer himself, chronicles
the aches, pains and other changes that are part of boomers' -- and everyone else's --
aging. Then, he dispenses advice on how to avoid them.
We asked Peck to answer some questions about boomer
health issues. Here are his edited responses:
Q. Why do boomers need
to start paying attention to their health?
A. Those born between 1946 and
1964 have reached a critical stage. The benefits and protection of youth can no longer be
relied on. This is also a time of life when significant changes take place in all organ
systems, many of them influenced by hormonal changes or the accumulated wear-and-tear of
life in general. For example, most of us experience vision and hearing loss. More serious
conditions that typically begin to appear at this age include multiple sclerosis,
hepatitis C, rheumatoid arthritis and post-polio syndrome.
Many of the conditions that start to occur at this age
are unexpected, confusing and even alarming to those without knowledge, which is why I
wrote "The Baby Boomer Body Book." There's such a large number of people facing
these changes at this time. This generation needs to educate, protect and prepare itself.
Prevention is the most effective treatment for everything.
Q. As a whole, what are the most
common health problems you see in baby boomers? And what can be done to prevent them?
A. Health issues must be divided into
lifestyle issues and into disease-specific issues. I think that the three most common or
pervasive health issues facing baby boomers today, in terms of lifestyle are smoking, diet
and exercise.
In terms of specific illnesses, which is a slightly
different question, the most common conditions are:
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Arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries)
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Kidney disease
-
Stroke
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Osteoporosis (which causes bones to break easily)
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Cancer, especially lung, breast and colon.
The three disease groups mentioned above are easily,
although not completely, prevented by lifestyle changes. ... In general, do not smoke, get
a significant amount of weight-bearing exercise, get the fat out of your diet and increase
the calcium in your diet. These things are easy to do. If everyone did them, our national
health care budget would shrink and we would all live longer, healthier, more comfortable
lives.
Q. Are there other specific health issues
that boomer men and women should be concerned about?
A. The three top health issues for men
in their 40s and 50s are arteriosclerosis, prostate enlargement and colon cancer.
Prevention strategies include staying away from cigarettes, decreasing dietary fat,
getting a rectal exam every one to two years and getting a colonoscopy at age 50.
Women in this age group have slightly different concerns.
While men need to take enough calcium and to get enough exercise, women develop bone loss
much earlier and more rapidly than men, and osteoporosis itself is a risk factor for a lot
of the other things that go wrong. Osteoporosis is probably the single most prevalent
problem of aging women. Women also need to stay away from cigarettes and to engage in
weight-bearing exercise to protect against arteriosclerosis, and they also need cancer
screening. For women, this includes mammography and pap tests as well as colonoscopy.
Q. How often should boomers see a doctor for
routine, preventive physicals?
A. Baby boomers should see
physicians or ... physician assistants and nurse practitioners at least once every two
years if there are no active health issues. Medical conditions such as high blood
pressure, arthritis, stomach problems or others naturally dictate more frequent visits.
Q. What kind
of patients do baby boomers make?
A. Baby boomers as patients are no
different from those in any other age group, except that it is easier for most doctors to
identify with and communicate with them because many doctors are baby boomers themselves.
Like any others, baby boomers can either be in denial or they can take a serious interest
in their health and actively participate in making decisions about prevention and
treatment.
Q. Compared with previous
generations, what health advantages and disadvantages do boomers have?
A. Today's baby boomers have many
advantages over previous generations. These are too numerous to list completely, but some
of the more important examples include:
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Fluoridation of water.
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Improved agricultural and food preservation methods.
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Antibiotics.
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Hormones.
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Health insurance.
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The knowledge that exercise is medicine.
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Knowledge about calcium and other mineral and vitamin
supplementation.
-
Modern dental technology.
-
Miniaturized diagnostic studies, especially those made
possible by endoscopes.
-
Access to hospitals and regular preventive medical care,
such as mammography, Pap tests, rectal exams for the prostate and other health screening.
-
Vaccination and eradication of most childhood diseases,
such as polio.
A result is that boomers are generally healthier than
people of previous generations.
Q. Because of this, can baby boomers expect a more active lifestyle
in their 60s, 70s and beyond than previous generations?
A. Yes. Baby boomers will definitely be
more active than their predecessors, but only if they take care of themselves. A huge
proportion of the age-related diseases we see in our parents is caused by fat, smoking,
alcohol and lack of exercise. ... Today we know better, due to advances in general and
scientific knowledge.
Q. Compared with other generations, how well have baby boomers done at
taking steps to ensure their health as they age?
A. Many boomers have done a good job at
this. However, there are still far too many who do the most horrible things to themselves,
like smoking cigarettes. There are still too many eating huge amounts of saturated fat,
fast foods and not exercising. There will always be those who fail to take advantage of
all that our society has to offer. The knowledge is out there. It is up to the individual
to seek it out.
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