Originally published December 27 2005
Health statistics show baby boomers are living longer than previous generations
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
The National Center for Health Statistics has released the latest life expectancy numbers, which show that Americans live an average of 77.6 years, an all-time high.
U.S. life expectancy has hit another all-time high --- 77.6 years --- and deaths from heart disease, cancer and stroke continue to drop, the government reported Thursday.
Still, the march of medical progress has taken a worrisome turn: Half of Americans in the 55-to-64 age group --- including the oldest of the baby boomers --- have high blood pressure, and two in five are obese.
The health of this large group of the near-elderly is of major concern to American taxpayers, because they are now becoming eligible for Medicare and Social Security.
"What happens to this group is very important because it's going to affect every other group," said Amy Bernstein of the National Center for Health Statistics, which put out the new report.
Life expectancy in the U.S. has been rising almost without interruption since 1900, thanks to several factors, including extraordinary advances in medicine and sanitation, and declines in some types of unhealthy behavior, such as smoking.
Those trends may allow life expectancy to continue to inch up despite the increases in obesity and high blood pressure, said Bernstein, the study's director.
Still, health officials are trying to draw attention to unhealthy behavior, and this year chose to break out data on people 55 to 64.
"The late 50s and early 60s are a crucial time to focus on disease prevention," said Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
That is because of the baby boom, the explosion of births during the prosperous postwar period between 1946 and 1964.
The report looked back at data on people who were in the 55-to-64 bracket around the early 1990s, which basically means people born in the 1930s.
Health expenditures as a percentage of gross domestic product rose to 15.3 percent in 2003, up from 14.9 percent in 2002.
All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. Truth Publishing LLC takes sole responsibility for all content. Truth Publishing sells no hard products and earns no money from the recommendation of products. NaturalNews.com is presented for educational and commentary purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice from any licensed practitioner. Truth Publishing assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. For the full terms of usage of this material, visit www.NaturalNews.com/terms.shtml