The lives of boomers
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From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I'm Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.
What used to be the baby boom is now the senior surge, as the generation ages to 65 and beyond. Experts think it may go well beyond, as medical care and a decrease in smoking extend boomers' lifespans.
But these may be healthier years only for some. Dr. Marie Bernard is deputy director at the National Institute on Aging, at the National Institutes of Health. She says obesity, for instance, increases the risk of conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure.
Bernard says there's also a bright side to aging:
``If we are as healthy as the current cohort of older individuals are, then there's an opportunity to use that time creatively and constructively, and to explore things that perhaps we didn't get to explore when we were younger.'' (11 seconds)
Learn more at hhs.gov.
HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I'm Ira Dreyfuss.