Fitness Files: We’re living longer -- treat those extra years well
“I’m playing golf with the 91-year-old tomorrow,” Paul said on a recent Sunday night.
“Call him Rick, not ‘the 91-year-old,’ ” I told him. “Remember Miriam’s irritation while planning her 100th birthday party? She said, ‘I haven’t changed inside, so people better stop making such a fuss about 100! That’s not who I am. If they want to celebrate Miriam, fine! Not ‘The 100-Year-Old Woman.’ ”
My friend Dennis handed me a Nautilus article, “Will 90 Become the New 60?” by professor David Steinsaltz of Oxford University. It gives the statistical proof that more of us will reach 100 and come to understand Miriam’s frustration firsthand.
Steinsaltz says, “The massive benefits from vaccination, the elimination of leaded gasoline, and reduction of smoking are still making their way through the aging population, of course, and will likely be stretching our healthy lifespans for some time to come.”
He quotes a recent study by USC gerontologist Eileen Crimsons that looks at the how long Americans could live free of limitations from long-term illness.
She found that from 1970 to 2010:
•American males gained about 7.7 years of life expectancy, nearly four of which would be disability free.
•At 65, Americans’ remaining life expectancy increased from 15 to 19 years, with more than half of the extra years free from disability.
•The largest increase in health over 65 years came in the last decade. Americans could expect to live 80% of their lives without major disability.
Steinsaltz adds that our active years have increase with the increased lifespans.
Can the progress go on? It looks good for us. In 1985, 23% of adults ages 50 to 64 were cut down by chronic illness. In 2014, that figure was down to 16%.
Steinsaltz says our great gains come from prevention in the form of hygiene, vaccination, medical advances and disease management. We now take for granted the extension of healthy years with diabetes control, cardiovascular advances, joint replacements and implantable drug pumps.
So how do we show our appreciation for this gift of years?
First, by realizing our good fortune — living in a developed country, born during a period of high employment and waking up daily to weather that allows outdoor recreation.
And we can express our gratitude by supporting our healthy years — by challenging the trend identified in a recent study that an increasing number Americans over 65 take five or more prescription drugs; by refusing to be part of the obesity epidemic; by showing restraint in everything but exercise, reading, learning and fun; and by finding ways to contribute to the common good.
I just opened a letter from Miriam analyzing current politics by comparing today to the 1930s. She lives by herself in an art-filled house near the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, reading, lunching with friends, attending the opera, getting her hair done weekly and sipping an occasional scotch, no ice.
She savors her scotch, best that money can buy, in moderation. The same with her steak and morning marmalade. She maintains her core personality, well informed, lovely to be with but ready to disagree with opinions she does not share.
We’d all do well to look to her example.
Newport Beach resident CARRIE LUGER SLAYBACK is a 72-year-old marathoner who brought home first places in LA Marathons 2013 and 2014 and the Carlsbad Marathon 2015. She lives in Newport Beach.
