Boomers’ Ailments Outpace Older Peers’

Source: USA Today
Posted: Tuesday, March 6, 2007

Baby boomers in their mid- to late 50s report having poorer health, more pain and more signs of early disability compared with older generations who took the same survey at the same stage in life. That’s the conclusion of a report by Beth Soldo of the University of Pennsylvania and her colleagues. The team compared the overall health status of those born from 1936 to 1941 (now ages 66 to 71); those born from 1942 to 1947 (now ages 60 to 65); and those born from 1948 to 1953 (now 54 to 59). They found that the youngest group reported having more chronic health conditions such as type 2 diabetes, a sugar-processing disease often associated with obesity. These people also reported more trouble getting out of chairs and doing other daily tasks. They might be in worse shape and at risk for developing disabling conditions at an early age, Soldo says. Or they might be less tolerant of aches and pains and thus more likely to report poor health on the survey, she says.