Studies Show More Pain for Baby-Boomers

For anyone born immediately after World War II, growing up in an era of simplicity, innocence and exploration was something that will always be remembered and cherished. Unfortunately, and according to federally funded research, we're now paying for it all in a big way.

According to a survey of about five thousand people born between 1948 and 1953, the National Bureau of Economic Research has found that we have worse health and more aches and pains than our predecessors.

We smoke less, but hurt more, suffer from more depression and have more chronic health conditions. According to Dr. Edward Fortnoy, and internal medicine physician who focuses on people between the ages of 50 and 70, "We've grown up in an era where the answer was taking a pill for everything. I think they felt as long as they take a pill, (they) don't have to exercise or watch what (they) eat."

Undoubtedly, "boomers" exercise more. Whether taking full advantage of a YMCA program, an independent gym or simply walking or jogging around a neighborhood park faithfully, we're certainly more active. However, it's for that reason that so many of us are in more pain.

We're also getting bigger, with 61% of Americans being determined as overweight or obese in 2006. Because we're carrying more weight, we're seeing an increase in joint pain and muscular maladies. Our cholesterol is also higher, and we depend on medicines like Lipitor to help control it.

A contributing cause to our weight problem is that we have become more affluent than our predecessors. The extra money means the greater ability and willingness to eat out - largely at fast-food restaurants which are notorious for their less-than-healthy menus. Further, we can hire people to do our lawns, wash our cars and do household chores rather than take on those responsibilities ourselves.

As our economy has become more upscale and less dependent upon heavy labor and farming, we find ourselves either sitting at desks for long periods per day or standing in one position behind cash registers or in salesrooms. In both positions, we find ourselves sedentary, the calories we consume not being spent as they should.

The study by the NBER included data from a federally funded Heath and Retirement Study. According to this data, people born from 1936 to 1941 reported less physical problems that those born during the next six years. In turn, those people reported even fewer problems than those who came into this world after 1947. In all three age groups, women were prone to report more health problems in their fifties than men.

To aggravate the problem, we've become more tense and worried over national and world political situations, the economy and, most recently, global warming. As these were not major concerns as we were growing up, we react adversely to the information spewing out of our TVs and radios. Then we turn this reaction inward where it seems to amplify every ache and pain we have.

Whatever the diagnoses of our physical ailments, the prognosis can be good if we find physicians who are willing to counsel us on the importance of proper exercise and diet and examples of how to do both efficiently. Then it will be up to us, the "boomers," to put these examples into action and follow up on these faithfully. As one physician puts it, "As you exercise and diet, remember two important words: Monitor and Moderation. That will keep you on the right track if you're serious about feeling better."

There is an alternative to this, and it's grim. It will mean more care, more medication and more pressure on Medicare to help us get those.

Of course, that will mean a lot more money spent and nerves frayed for us all.