Enjoying a healthier life as part of a longer life has created welcome additional opportunities for the traditional successive stages of living—education, work, and retirement. Benefiting meaningfully for both public good and individual well-being is the subject of a recent New England Journal of Medicine Perspective (NEJM).
By way of background, over the past fifty years life expectancy has increased on average one month per year. A recent notable three-year reversal in life expectancy due to the diseases of despair—overdose, suicide, alcoholism—will hopefully have only a transient negative effect.
As the United States grows into an aging society due to a lower birth rate and longer life span, the nation will soon have more people over 65 (almost 20%) than under 15. Harnessing the power, experience, sagacity, resilience, and capabilities of the older population will become essential for all age groups. The demographic dividend for society of people’s longer and healthier lives should be employed wisely to support those younger as well as themselves.
Research on aging—combined with focus on geriatric conditions such as frailty, falls, and delirium—has helped to differentiate the aging process from disease disruption. Aging is normal but can be slowed to yield more healthy years. Disease risk can be ameliorated by healthy habits, the most obvious being tobacco avoidance, weight control, physical activity, and mental exercise.
The science exists. “Environmental, socioeconomic, and behavioral modifiers of population health also profoundly influence whether people live long and healthy lives,” according to the Health in Aging—Past, Present, and Future article referenced above in the NEJM.
The incidence of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, many types of cancer, and other maladies can be effectively decreased by lifestyles that employ environmental changes. Complete streets that welcome walkers and bikers, as well as decrease air pollution, have profoundly positive physical and mental health benefits. Parks and green areas within walking distance similarly have objective benefits. Long term decreases in healthcare costs, combined with increased productivity as the result of more healthy years of life, can boost gross domestic product, in turn having the potential to decrease the national debt. Certainly, everyone will feel better about themselves and their surroundings.
Whole populations can be profoundly influenced to add healthy years of life. Current examples include Blue Zones Project communities such as Southwest Florida, which has added 0.7 years of life expectancy over the past five years. Sadly, most of the rest of the nation’s life expectancy has slipped during this same recent time, presumably due to diseases of despair as noted above. As the Blue Zones Project continues to evolve from linear growth to exponential change, years of productivity will be enjoyed by individuals who will benefit society.
Governmental agencies, healthcare systems, foundations, and academics all know the difference between healthy behaviors/positive aging versus harmful activities/noxious disease. The question remains: Why hasn’t more progress been made? Does the tyranny of the present blind those institutions that have the capacity to implement strategic change? Do the current financial rewards outweigh the future potential benefits of a healthier, more productive society? As these questions raise the consciousness of civilization to embrace successful strategies, the need and opportunity for change grow exponentially.
The “what” is clear—increasing productivity in the extended years of life. The “why” is known—helping others while gaining self-fulfillment. And the “how” exists—embracing the Blue Zones Power 9® by entire communities. Addressing this issue will help everyone now and pay dividends for generations to come.