An estimated 5.3 million Americans of all ages have Alzheimer’s disease (2010). This figure includes 5.1 million people aged 65 and older and 200,000 individuals under age 65 who have younger-onset Alzheimer’s. One out of eight people age 65 and older (13 percent) has Alzheimer’s disease. Women, who on average live longer than men, are more likely than men to have Alzheimer’s disease.♦ Alzheimer’s is the most frequent cause of dementia, accounting for 70 percent of all cases of dementia in Americans aged 71 and older. ♦ By 2030, all baby boomers will be at least 65 years old. That year, the number of people aged 65 and older with Alzheimer’s is expected to reach 7.7 million, more than a 50 percent increase from the 5.1 million age 65 order older currently (2009) affected.

Cost of Alzheimer’s Disease

People with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias are high users of health care, long-term care and hospice. Total payments for these types of care from all sources, including Medicare and Medicaid, are three times higher for older people with Alzheimer’s and other dementias than for other older people. As the number of people with these conditions grows in the future, payments for their care will increase dramatically. Direct and indirect costs of Alzheimer’s and other dementias in 2011 will amount to more than $172 billion.

A report last week from the Alzheimer’s Association predicts that 10 million baby boomers will develop Alzheimer’s disease in the United States — that translates to one out of every eight. For us “baby boomers,” this is frightening to say the least.

Exercise still best bet

There are new treatments on the horizon, but we all wonder whether or not they will be available in time for us or even our children. Let’s keep hoping for a cure or prevention model by supporting research in whatever way we can. Meanwhile, studies continue to point to physical exercise as the most effective therapy today to prevent Alzheimer’s.

Mounting evidence suggests that physical activity may have benefits beyond a healthy heart and body weight. Through the past several years, population studies have suggested that exercise which raises your heart rate for at least 30 minutes several times a week can lower your risk of Alzheimer’s. Physical activity appears to inhibit Alzheimer’s-like brain changes in mice, slowing the development of a key feature of the disease.

In one observational study, investigators looked at the relationship of physical activity and mental function in about 6,000 women age 65 and older, over an 8 year period. They found that the women who were more physically active were less likely to experience a decline in their mental function than inactive women.

Dr. Ronald Petersen, director of the Alzheimer’s Research Center at the Mayo Clinic, said on ABC: “Regular physical exercise is probably the best means we have of preventing Alzheimer’s disease today, better than medications, better than intellectual activity, better than supplements and diet.”

People, its coming! The numbers don’t lie, and as your waist line goes so do the numbers, up! Baby boomers those of you between the ages of 46-64, you’re the next problem child and probably ending worse off than your parents because of denial. Here’s the way I see it; one of two choices, buy into the numbers NOW or become one of them sooner or later.

Baby Boomers:

• Over half will break a hip by 75
• A third will develop Diabetes
• Eighty- Five percent will be over weight
• Fifty –percent will be obese.
• Most will die prematurely due to depression

Seniors

• Average Nursing Home cost is $70k a year.
• One third will break a hip in a life time.
• Most will lose their driving privileges five years before its time.

Diabetes affects 25.8 million people of all ages, specifically those 65 years or older 10.9 million, or 26.9 percent. It’s the leading cause of kidney failure, non-traumatic lower-limb amputations, and new cases of blindness among adults in the United States.

Diabetes is a major cause of heart disease and stroke. Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States with the total cost of $174 billion.

Direct medical costs $116 billion—after adjusting for population age and sex differences, average medical expenditures among people with diagnosed diabetes were 2.3 times higher than what

expenditures would be in the absence of diabetes. Indirect costs $58 billion—disability, work loss, premature mortality.

With these numbers how could anyone age with any grace at all? Oh, its coming, the epidemic is already here, underneath, hiding, waiting for the right moment. This book is about will you be ready when that time comes?

There are really three things that will make your transition between seasons of life and your aging process easier; acceptance, attitude and get some much needed activity with exercise; simple in words, challenging in life.

Acceptance

Accepting the fact that your aging is not a form of defeat it’s a beginning of better health. There are three barriers that keep us from accepting the aging process; pride, denial and laziness.Read more in my book TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES

Pride

• Arrogant or disdainful conduct or treatment; haughtiness.
• An excessively high opinion of oneself; conceit.

A lot of people die a year from plan old pride.

Important enough to mention again is that accepting that you are getting older and how you feel about yourself, does not mean you are weak or admitting some sort of defeat.

Men I think are worse than women.

Denial

Denying something is a combination of pride and fear. When my cousin died of a steroid overdose, I was taking the same drugs that were killing him,

How ever my feelings were, “Well, it won’t happen to me.”

Looking back that was just pure being in denial and afraid that it would happen to me, so I just rationalized taking steroids and blocked the consequences out of my mind.

Rejecting the fact that you are aging and your body is not as healthy as it once was, will set yourself up for major consequences later on. When was the last time you heard someone say, “Boy I am glad I waited to get some exercise, cause if I did I might not have experienced this heart attack?”

No most, if not all would say, “I sure wish I would have taken better care of myself.

Denial kills, its that simple! Sooner rather than later you just have to change the attitude.

Attitude

Is attitude genetic, environmental or both? Have you every thought this question?

There are some people just see the world half full rather than half empty? Is that just a born trait they have or did they chose to learn it along the way.

No matter what side of fence you are on when you are born, I do believe there is some sort of choice on how you few life. Giver, receiver; chose to be a gift and give back or feel entitled and the world owes you something.

Baby boomers or seniors its not your age, it really is a simple matter of choice; victim of the world or giver back to society.

Activity

Lazy is what lazy does, nothing! Pride, denial and laziness kills more people a year than anything. Yes, we live in a free will world, we can choose to do anything we want or don’t want at anytime. But, sooner or later, life, aging and our slow deterioration will take control.

Seasons come and seasons go, the question is will you be ready when they do?

Read more in my new book, Aging with Grace!

People, its coming! The numbers don’t lie, and as your waist line goes so do the numbers, up! Baby boomers those of you between the ages of 46-64, you’re the next problem child and probably ending worse off than your parents because of denial. Here’s the way I see it; one of two choices, buy into the numbers NOW or become one of them sooner or later.

Baby Boomers:

• Over half will break a hip by 75
• A third will develop Diabetes
• Eighty- Five percent will be over weight
• Fifty –percent will be obese.
• Most will die prematurely due to depression

Seniors

• Average Nursing Home cost is $70k a year.
• One third will break a hip in a life time.
• Most will lose their driving privileges five years before its time.

Diabetes affects 25.8 million people of all ages, specifically those 65 years or older 10.9 million, or 26.9 percent. It’s the leading cause of kidney failure, non-traumatic lower-limb amputations, and new cases of blindness among adults in the United States.

Diabetes is a major cause of heart disease and stroke. Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States with the total cost of $174 billion.

Direct medical costs $116 billion—after adjusting for population age and sex differences, average medical expenditures among people with diagnosed diabetes were 2.3 times higher than what

expenditures would be in the absence of diabetes. Indirect costs $58 billion—disability, work loss, premature mortality.

With these numbers how could anyone age with any grace at all? Oh, its coming, the epidemic is already here, underneath, hiding, waiting for the right moment. This book is about will you be ready when that time comes?

There are really three things that will make your transition between seasons of life and your aging process easier; acceptance, attitude and get some much needed activity with exercise; simple in words, challenging in life.

Acceptance

Accepting the fact that your aging is not a form of defeat it’s a beginning of better health. There are three barriers that keep us from accepting the aging process; pride, denial and laziness.

Pride

• Arrogant or disdainful conduct or treatment; haughtiness.
• An excessively high opinion of oneself; conceit.

A lot of people die a year from plan old pride.

Important enough to mention again is that accepting that you are getting older and how you feel about yourself, does not mean you are weak or admitting some sort of defeat.

Men I think are worse than women.

Denial

Denying something is a combination of pride and fear. When my cousin died of a steroid overdose, I was taking the same drugs that were killing him,

How ever my feelings were, “Well, it won’t happen to me.”

Looking back that was just pure being in denial and afraid that it would happen to me, so I just rationalized taking steroids and blocked the consequences out of my mind.

Rejecting the fact that you are aging and your body is not as healthy as it once was, will set yourself up for major consequences later on. When was the last time you heard someone say, “Boy I am glad I waited to get some exercise, cause if I did I might not have experienced this heart attack?”

No most, if not all would say, “I sure wish I would have taken better care of myself.

Denial kills, its that simple! Sooner rather than later you just have to change the attitude.

Attitude

Is attitude genetic, environmental or both? Have you every thought this question?

There are some people just see the world half full rather than half empty? Is that just a born trait they have or did they chose to learn it along the way.

No matter what side of fence you are on when you are born, I do believe there is some sort of choice on how you few life. Giver, receiver; chose to be a gift and give back or feel entitled and the world owes you something.

Baby boomers or seniors its not your age, it really is a simple matter of choice; victim of the world or giver back to society.

Activity

Lazy is what lazy does, nothing! Pride, denial and laziness kills more people a year than anything. Yes, we live in a free will world, we can choose to do anything we want or don’t want at anytime. But, sooner or later, life, aging and our slow deterioration will take control.

Seasons come and seasons go, the question is will you be ready when they do?

To read more from my book, “Aging with Grace” go here!