Aging Well

  • Published
  • By Marilyn Leggett, RN
  • Civilian Health Promotion Service
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  Air Force Materiel Command has deemed August "Healthy Aging Month." 

Did you know that George Burns and Bob Hope entertained millions of people while in their nineties? Michelangelo designed churches at the age of 88 and Grandma Moses continued to paint as a centegenarian. Jack La Lanne, an early promoter of physical fitness, is in his 90's and still has the daily workout regimen of a man less than half his age. 

Healthy aging is accomplished by minimizing the physical negatives that inevitably occur and working to achieve and maintain your personal best. 

While our bodies have a natural life expectancy, the important "age" is not our age in birthdays but our biological or vital age; this is how well we function. The differences between our vital age and actual age can be as much as 30 years. Many aspects of aging can be modified such as physical fitness, mobility, blood pressure, arthritis, and agility. 

In a study published in the July 2007 issue of the American Journal of Medicine, researchers from the University of South Carolina, Charleston, found that people aged 45 to 64 years of age, who added healthy lifestyle behaviors, could "substantially" reduce their risk for cardiovascular disease and reduce their death rate. Compared to people with less healthy lifestyles, study participants' incidence of CVD dropped 35 percent and their death rate dropped 40 percent. 

What those healthier individuals achieved were the following healthy behaviors: eating at least five fruits and vegetables daily, exercising at least two and one-half hours per week, maintaining a body mass index between 18.5 and 30, and not smoking. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as of July 18, 2007, 921,998 people have died from chronic disease thus far this year. The South Carolina study notes that "the health benefit of adopting a healthier lifestyle in middle age is substantial."

From 1987 to 1989, nearly 16,000 men and women ages 45 to 64 participated in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study in four communities across the U.S. Follow-up visits occurred every three years through 1998. Two key findings in that study also highlighted that the benefit of switching to a healthy lifestyle past age 45 became evident even in the short-term, four-year follow up and the beneficial impact of the changes occurred despite the relatively modest changes in health habits.
 
Josefina G. Carbonell, Department of Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary for Aging states, "We are encouraging Americans of all ages to live healthier lives. Healthy living can prevent diseases and certain disabilities, and it can ensure that today's older persons--as well as future generations--not only live longer but also better."

The science of aging indicates that chronic disease and disability are not inevitable. Can one imagine the potential for good health in later years if he or she were to begin taking healthy steps at the age of 20? 

Civilian Health Promotion Service (CHPS) provides cholesterol screenings to DoD Civilians in Eglin organizations or by individual appointment. In addition, CHPS provides an array of classes each month at the HAWC or, when requested, at your workplace. Everyone with Eglin access is welcomed to the classes. Blood pressure checks and individual health consultations to discuss lifestyle changes can also be scheduled by appointment. For more information, call 883-8024/8025.