Is 60 the New 40? Healthy Aging -Part 2

We know that healthy aging is a lifelong process for preserving and improving your physical and mental well-being. The choices we make today may impact on our future health. So how healthy are Canadians? We have good overall longevity

A man who is currently 65 can expect to live another 17.4 years.
A woman who is currently 65 can expect to live another 20.8 years.
BUT, men are more likely (59%) than women (52%) to have overall good health
We have an epidemic of high blood pressure, which puts us at risk for stroke and heart disease. And we need to be more aggressive about medication.
Over 19% of Canadians aged 20 to 79 are hypertensive or 4.6 million and another 20% are pre-hypertensive or 4.8 million.
42% of Canadians living with high blood pressure are unaware of their condition and only 16% have it treated and under control
About 1.8 million Canadians aged 12 and over have been diagnosed with diabetes. Researchers project an increase of diagnosed diabetes in Canada to 2.4 million by the year 2016. Combined with obesity and high blood pressure this is a serious increasing risk both to the individual and to our health care system!

So Is 60 the new 40?

Well, we need to be aggressive about modifying our risks, whether taking medications as prescribed, exercising, losing weight and overall living a much more healthy lifestyle. For 60 can be the new 40…BUT…40 can be the new 60 if we are not careful!!!