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Greetings!
When working on this newsletter, I was searching for information on "elderly wellness." It was hard to find much. Most of what I learned had to do with chronic illness.
The buzz words were "self management" and most of the advice was about taking medications.
It is a fact of life that as we age, our chance of developing a chronic illness increases and there is no avoiding that basic statistic.
But, what can we do to stay as healthy as we can as we age? How can we help older adults in our lives stay healthy?
Most chronic conditions are actually caused by things we do have control over and can be improved by our own healthy lifestyle habits.
I think it is important to focus on chronic conditions by finding ways to improve health even with an ongoing illness or with some of the inevitable changes of aging. It is never too late to improve your health!
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Chronic conditions have a profound impact on the quality of life and health for our elderly population. A chronic disease is a long-lasting condition that can be controlled but not cured; it affects the population worldwide, and in the U.S., it is considered the leading cause of death and disability. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), chronic diseases - such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, and arthritis - are among the most common, costly, and preventable of all health problems in the U.S.
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Chronic diseases are increasing rapidly. In part, this is occurring because we have an aging population. But, it is also true that many chronic diseases are really "lifestyle" diseases. We know that what we eat, how often we exercise, and how much stress we have will impact our health. Most of us also know that the big chronic diseases like heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes are related to our overall health habits. And we have all become aware of the dangers of smoking. So how do we change to a healthier lifestyle or help older adults with their health?
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Chronic Conditions Becoming a Huge Problem
The numbers are staggering. The United States currently spends about $1.4 trillion on all healthcare costs. Of that total, 75% of all money spent is for older people with chronic conditions like heart disease, diabetes, stroke, arthritis, high blood pressure, Alzheimer's Disease, and Obesity to name a few of the most common. And 95% of all healthcare spent on seniors is for chronic conditions.
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