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There are health risks affecting today’s retirement age population – mostly consisting of the generation known as “baby boomers” – that previous generations didn’t have as much concern with. Times change and lifestyles change with them. Because these issues affecting older people are relatively new, there may be some unintentional ignorance among baby boomers about what kind of health risks might be on the horizon for them individually.
Let’s take a look:
Addiction
The opioid epidemic facing the country is not just a problem for the youth. The population of your average detox centre is diverse across all demographics. Addiction makes no distinctions among age, race, or gender. Baby boomers can face an increased risk of becoming addicted, as age-related illnesses necessitate the use of narcotics to manage pain. Depression statistics about the US can be very alarming if you take a closer look.
It is important to always use the medication exactly as prescribed. Using a complete pain management team, including alternative pain control methods such as chiropractic care, proper body mechanics, and ergonomically designed products can help reduce the need for and possible dependence on narcotics for pain management.
Sexually Transmitted Diseases
For a variety of reasons including divorce and the death of a spouse, some baby boomers are experiencing the single life for the first time in a long time. However, the landscape of sexual health has been altered dramatically over the years and some baby boomers didn’t get the memo. As a result, STD rates continue to rise among older adults.
This can be due to a lack of understanding about the seriousness and prevalence of STDs, or false security in the advancement of the treatments and increased survivability of these and other STDs. It is always important to use safe sex practices, no matter the age of those participating.
Repercussions of Too Much Processed Food
As the years have gone by, the American diet as a whole has become more and more processed. Grocery stores and food producers have grown and spread, widening the gap between where food comes from and consumers. This has lead to greater convenience, but it has also lead to an increase in a host of diseases. Many highly processed foods are high in fats, sugars, and salts. These higher levels can contribute to developing health issues such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, and kidney problems.
In order to avoid such issues, boomers should make what is, in theory, a simple change, but in practice can be very difficult: eat more unprocessed foods. Keeping to the outer edges of the usual grocery store setup is a good way to accomplish this. Buy meats, vegetables, fruits, and dairy. These products have gone through very little processing before they get to consumers. Use the store made bakery bread or try baking bread at home to reduce preservative intake as well.
Concluding thoughts
Staying healthy in retirement is important to boomers who have worked long and hard to get to a more relaxing time in their lives. Keeping these issues and solutions in mind will help to make sure that boomers’ upcoming golden years don’t become tarnished with health issues that could have been avoided by making better lifestyle choices now. It’s never too late to start making improvements!
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