40,000 interviews were conducted randomly throughout the United States on people aged 55 or older to look at key health indicators and statistics.  As a nation, we are doing well in some areas and not so well in others.

Here is a brief summary of how people 55 or older are doing:

• Cancer – in the U.S., 1 in 4 deaths is due to cancer with most cases occurring in people 55 or older.  1 in 3 women (38%) will develop cancer during their lifetime, and 1 in 2 men (46%) will develop cancer.
  
• Dental Health – 1 in 5 adults (21.6%) 55 or older has lost all of their natural teeth.
  
• Dental visit – approximately 60% of all adults age 55 or older visited a dentist in the last 12 months.
  
• Diabetes – 7% of all people over the age of 18 have diabetes.  For people 55 or older, 1 in 7 (14.5%) have diabetes.  One out of every 3 people (35%) born in 2000 is expected to develop diabetes.  In addition, Hispanic adults are nearly twice as likely to develop diabetes compared to white Americans.
  
• Doctor visit – approximately 92% of all adults 55 or older visited their doctor within the last year; for this age group, the CDC recommends an annual doctor visit.
  
• Emergency Room visit – 1 in 5 adults (21%) 55 or older visited an emergency room in the last 12 months.
  
• Healthy Weight – only 1 in 3 adults (35.3%) age 55 or older maintains a healthy weight (defined as having a BMI less than 25).
  
• Hearing Impairment – approximately 1 in 3 adults (31.5%) 55 or older has some degree of hearing impairment.
  
• Heart Disease – 1 in 4 adults (25%) aged 55 or older has heart disease.  For those under the age of 85, the rate is higher in men than women.
  
• High Blood Pressure – approximately 4 in 10 adults (44.9%) aged 55 or older have high blood pressure (140/90 or higher).
  
• Leisure-time Physical Activity – 1 in 4 adults (24.7%) age 55 or older gets regular physical activity (moderate activity for 30+ minutes, 5 or more times per week or vigorous activity for 20 minutes, 3 or more times per week).
  
• Nonsmokers – approximately half (48.1%) of all adults 55 or older never smoked.  An additional 37.5% of this age group stopped smoking.  1 in 7 adults (14.4%) 55 or older still currently smoke.
  
• Strengthening Activity – only 1 in 7 adults (13.5%) 55 or older regularly participate in any strength-building activity (lifting weights, calisthenics, etc.).  Interestingly, lack of adequate strength is one of the best predictors of who will require an assisted living facility.
  
• Vision Impairment – approximately 1 in 7 people (14.6%) 55 or older has vision impairment (not including needing glasses or having difficulty seeing close-up due to natural aging).
  
• Walking – 1 in 4 adults (23.8%) 55 or older had difficulty walking ¼ mile. Women were more likely than men to have difficulty with physical activities.

In addition, life expectancy has increased 28.1 years during the last century.  In 1900, life expectancy was 49.2 years at birth and increased to 77.3 years by 2002.  Most of this difference is due to a high infant mortality rate.  People reaching the age of 55 in 1900 could expect to live an additional 17.9 years; in 2002, people reaching the age of 55 can expect to live another 26.1 years longer than the person in 1900.

This additional 8 years in life expectancy is similar to health research today that shows an increase of 10+ years in life expectancy for people living a healthy lifestyle.  The bottom line is that taking care of your health can add as much, if not more, years to your life as all of the medical advances in the past 100 years.

Sources:   CDC,  Advance Data 370. Health Characteristics of Adults 55 Years of Age and Older: United States 2000-2003 (April 2006);  Jemal A, et al. (March/April 2006), Cancer Statistics, 2006. CA A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, 56:106-30; Making Healthy Choices™, Issue 34 (May 2006), Wellsource.