It’s interesting to consider the process of aging in the context of longevity and to ask ourselves how we can aspire to live longer lives while maintaining our best physical health, mental clarity, and the highest level of emotional contentment. The unfortunate truth is that in the year 2023, as the Baby Boomer generation ages they are indeed living longer, but the quality of life of the average older American is far from healthy. At least 95% of people over 60 years are living with at least one chronic disease, and over 80% are living with more than 2 chronic diseases such as Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, and cancer. That may be disturbing statistic but even more alarming is the health status of the Millennial generation, babies born between 1981-1996, which is now considerably worse than their Gen X parents had at the same age.
In the United States people under the age of 40 are now suffering with a variety of chronic diseases usually afflicting older generations, with over 50% of the so called “Millennial generation” having at least one chronic disease and over 20% suffering with two or more. Despite being the most educated generation ever and the bulk of the American workforce, an article published in 2019 by Blue Cross Blue Shield explains that major chronic diseases such as heart disease, hypertension, and Type 2 diabetes are widely affecting almost half of Millennials, with depression, substance abuse, and hyperactivity being a major concerns in the mental health status of that adult population.
“Between 2014 and 2017 alone, prevalence of major depression and hyperactivity among millennials was up roughly 30%. What’s more, according to the CDC, accidental deaths, which include overdoses, and suicides were the cause of 60% of the deaths among 25-29 years old in 2017. A generation before, in 2002, those two causes accounted for less than half of all deaths in the same age cohort.“
Written from a health insurance standpoint, the BCBS report takes an economic look at the health concerns of Americans, as the impacts of chronic disease in younger generations will take a huge toll on the US economy, with the projection of at least half of the work force in the next few decades having to take time off frequently or not be able to work at all because of chronic disease. The disturbing truth is that this will be the first generation in modern Western culture to have a lower mortality age than their parents. The health status of Americans is growing worse both in the younger and the aging populations, and relies on serious interventions like pharmaceutical drug use and surgery, often multiple, to maintain the ability to function and to just endure life itself.
You don’t have to be a scientist to recognize that advances in technology have created a more sedentary society, the lack of physical activity, the easy accessibility of fast foods and processed foods, and the continuing trends towards personal isolation are all factors that lead to chronic disease outcomes. Gaming and other online activities have become substitutes for realtime social interaction for many of the younger generations; thus, hyperactivity and depression have become the normal emotional state for an alarming number of our youth and the Millennial generation. In addition, the modern Western diet has negatively affected the health outcomes of Americans, with many people relying on health damaging processed foods, high calorie restaurant fare, and artificially sweetened beverages and snacks to satiate their appetites while using alcohol and pharmaceutical drugs just to cope with life.
Lifestyle Matters
Choices matter when it comes to improving lifestyle, emotional well being, and overall health. What we eat, how we move our bodies every day, and social and economic status all affect our well being and have huge implications on our physical and mental health outcomes at every age. Parents of young children have the burden of making the right choices, not just the easy ones, to ensure their offspring grow into healthy, happy, and productive members of society. The concern is that parents of our youngest citizens are the “at risk” Millennial generation, the ones expected to die earlier than their parents because of chronic diseases. If people aren’t ready to make big changes for themselves and how they raise their children then we cannot expect modernity to equate to improved longevity, it will in fact be the exact thing that leads to the failure of society to improve as technology advances.
White, D., & Wurm, M. A. (2019, September 19). Blue Cross Blue Shield | The Health of America | The Economic Consequences of Millennial Health 3 / 32. Retrieved from https://www.bcbs.com/sites/default/files/file-attachments/health-of-america-report/HOA-Moodys-Millennial-10-30.pdf
This article by Kat Severi was originally published as a monthly column piece for Vernonia’ s Voice, a small town newspaper located in Vernonia, Oregon