Daily HealthBeat Tip

Creaky old boomers

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I'm Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Remember the peace and love generation? It's turning to the overweight and arthritic generation.

People do tend to gain weight as they age. But a researcher at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston says baby boomers started gaining earlier than previous generations did. Suzanne Leveille's (LEH'-vuh-leez) study, supported by the National Institutes of Health, was in the American Journal of Public Health.

Leveille says the rates of boomers' arthritis have increased as their weight rose. And she says the worst is yet to come:

"The next 10 to 20 years are critical for the development of chronic conditions among the aging baby boomers. And we will no doubt begin to see the health consequences of obesity among aging baby boomers very soon." (11 seconds)

Leveille's advice: Lose weight � and get physically active, starting with things you can do right now, like taking walks.

Learn more at www.hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I'm Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: October 28, 2005

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