Someone sent this to me with no author – it’s from a no-name type of blog..
But, I thought it was worth sharing..
Recently, Parade Magazine did some great research on aging and Health in America. I’d like to summarize some of their results.
The told us that the main concern about growing older is declining health while financial concerns took a close second (this was written before the financial crunch hit our economy. But, the largest of all fears was about losing mental capacity – even far more than physical capacity. Interesting, isn’t it?
How Much Control Do We Have?
Do we get to control the aging process – More than 80% believe we do. But, how many are actually taking action? This may be due to the baby boomers now coming of age in a health conscious environment. But, almost all who believe they can control the process are actually doing something about it.
The primary thing people are doing is staying engaged in physical activity. Watching what we eat only accounts of a little over 25%. Only 3% say they are doing it by watching their weight.
The medical breakthroughs Predicted
There is a great deal of hope that during the next 20 years, scientists will find a cure for Alzheimers, Parkinsons and diabetes as well as for heart disease. People are a little less optimistic about finding cures of cancer or AIDS, but, nonetheless, there are still a large number holding out for that possibility. More than half of Americans think that in the next 20 years scientists will find a cure for diabetes (65%), for Parkinson’s disease (59%), for Alzheimer’s disease (54%) and for heart disease (52%). Just under half think scientists will find a cure for cancer (48%) and for AIDS (47%) within the next two decades. And yet, cancer was seen as the No. one health problem we want to solve.
Reflection
We all want to live healthier lives. I personally believe that our health, as well as everything else in our lives, is totally dependent on our consciousness. It is done to us as we believe. If you believe you have strong chances of developing a disease, you probably will. If you believe it is possible to live a healthy life into a ripe old age, regardless of what your ancestors have done, you probably will.
