Baby Boomers, those born between 1946 and 1964, have long been associated with having rejected traditional values. Their notions about what they value in terms of their mind and body may not fit the traditional outlook as well. Although they fear cancer and heart disease, it may be a surprise to note that they list “fear of memory loss” as their second biggest concern. Cancer is their first and heart disease their third. This information was obtained from a Strong.com poll by Knowledge Networks of Menlo Park, conducted through interviewing 1078 Baby Boomers.
As boomers age, they aren’t taking care of their health as well as they could. In the article Boomers Losing the Battle of the Bulge, the Arizona Republic reported, “Boomers are more obese than other generations, a new poll says, setting them up for unhealthy senior years. Only half of the obese Boomers say they are regularly exercising.”
Rather than focusing on having a healthy weight, Boomers are working on avoiding dementia. In this same article it was noted, “More than half of Boomers polled say they regularly do mental exercises such as crossword puzzles.”
Marilynn Mobley from Baby Boomer Insights reported, “We boomers live in fear of being diagnosed with Alzheimers. Too many of us have watched our grandparents die with it and some of us are already dealing with parents who are showing signs of dementia or Alzheimer’s. Now, there’s evidence that our fear is not unfounded. We boomers are actually now regarded as “Generation Alzheimers.” One out of every eight of us will die with or from the disease. And unlike other common boomer diseases like diabetes, arthritis, and heart conditions, there’s really nothing we can do about it. There’s no cure; in fact, there’s not even a known way to significantly slow the progression of the disease.”
Boomers are not the only ones that fear Alzheimer’s. They may have good reason for this. The Examiner.com recently reported statistics from: The Metlife Foundation survey, What America Thinks. “Recent estimates show more than 26 million people worldwide have Alzheimer’s. The number of Americans aged 65 and older with Alzheimer’s disease is estimated to reach 7.7 million in 2030 – a greater than 50 percent increase from today because of the aging Baby Boomer population.”
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