Wellness is the Greenest Medicine Part 1

Wellness is the greenest medicine.

Getting older is not the same as getting sicker.  People in our society have significantly correlated the two but they are not directly related.  It takes many years of negligence and abuse for the body to start to break down and to enter a truly pathological state.  There are many things that occur in the body as we age that causes it to become weaker and more susceptible to pathology.  This doesn’t mean that we cannot slow down the process.  More and more we are witnessing people living longer and some of those people remain essentially disease free, healthy and physically active well into their golden years to enjoy the benefits of retirement.  Many others however are learning that they have not prepared well for their golden years and are about to enter a difficult time filled with frequent trips to the doctor, hospitals and a rapidly declining ability to move freely about their environment. 

The effects of the Baby boomers born from 1946 to 1964, have been and will be widespread.  The first boomers are now entering their senior citizen term of life.  By 2030 the number of U.S. citizens over the age of 65 will double to about 71 million people.  Healthcare spending will increase at least another 35 percent due the increasing age of the population.  Medicare costs have increased almost 10 times in the past 25 years from 37 billion to 336 billion dollars.  Baby boomers are responsible for the increase in sales in all of the trillion dollar industries as they have been leading the consumption trends for decades.  Baby boomers are responsible for 5 trillion dollars in sales of the 10 trillion spent in the U.S. today.  Generation X, (1965-1980), initially called the baby bust for the small number of births compared to the baby boomers, has followed the trends of the Baby Boomers and will continue to do so.  Generation X will be entering their most productive years starting in 2010. 

Baby boomers will continue to want to work for social and health advantages.  Baby boomers now more than ever, have the ability and need to continue to work past retirement age.  They have more advantages such as Celebrex to ease pains of aching joints and less financial ability to enjoy retirement.  We also have the Americans with disabilities act enacted in 1990 which limits discrimination of disabled Americans and provides legislation requiring accessibility to businesses for disabled people.  Older Americans will need to work and they will have to be provided with employment opportunities to see that they are able to provide for themselves into their golden years. 

Harry Dent has proposed many economic forecasts which have manifested and is well known for his age wave theory.  Dent, an economist, proposed that the American economy would crash in 2007 to 2009 because of the beginning of retiring baby-boomers.  Consumer spending typically peaks around age 50.  2 million people per year will reach retirement age and most will not be retiring.  Dent proposed that many jobs may have winter off options and prescription drug coverage.  We may see sodium free and other healthy snacks in office food areas.  People will want to stay healthy to allow themselves to work and avoids injuries such as car accidents and falls.  

It is obvious to see that many people saw their retirement age get extended a few years after the economic crash.  Many people need to have saved millions of dollars to be able to thrive and enjoy their retirement years.  The people who have not prepared appropriately will need to continue to preserve their ability to work and provide for themselves and their families.  Wellness is on the rise.  Our society must progress this way.  It is inevitable.