| By virtually every measure we are riving longer, healthier, and more pro- ductive lives than any generation in history. Every year fewer Americans in their sixties, seventies, eighties, and even nineties are disabled or are unable to care for themselves, according to the National Long-Term Care Surveys, a federally funded study that regularlypolls nearly 20,000 people over age 65 about their health and lifestyles. That means more of us are enjoyin~ life--robustly facing joys and chal- \~xx%v~ e>m~y day. It means that even though we are getting older, we re staying young in both mind and body, says John Weisburger, M.D., Ph.D., a 75-year-old senior member at the American Health Foundation in Val- halla, New York. "In good part the improvement in longevity without being ill is due to changes in lifestyle. People at any age, but especially over 60, are making more of an effort to stay healthy." But getting older would be even better if we could banish heart disease, stroke, and cancer from our lives. In fact, if all major forms of heart disease could be eliminated, the average American could add nearly a decade to hislife expectancy, according to the American Heart Association. And if allforms of cancer were eradicated, the gain would be three years--years thatyou could use to give hundreds more hugs to your grandchildren and marvelat a thousand more sunrises. The unfortunate truth is that these diseases disable thousands of peopleover age 60 each year and are the top three killers in this age group, claimingmore than 1.1 million lives annu~ally. Nearly 87 percent of the deaths causedby stroke and heart disease and 70 percent of deaths caused by cancer occurafter age 65, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. Overall, one in three men and one in four women will develop cancerafter age 60. For each decade after age 55, the risk of stroke doubles, and |
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