By Eileen Beal
What is “healthy aging?”
For Dr. John W. Rowe and Robert L. Kahn, authors of “Successful Aging,” the book that got the nation thinking about healthy aging, it’s a goal: “[L]ow probability of disease and disease-related disability, high cognitive and physical functional capacity, and active engagement with life.” For the quick-read version of the book, see Rowe and Kahn’s article in The Gerontologist.
For other thought leaders such as the National Council on Aging, American Geriatrics Society, AARP, the Healthy Aging Council, and the folks heading up the CDC’s Healthy Aging Program and Healthy Aging Research Network, it’s a public policy issue.
For those who are actively promoting healthy aging – for instance, neuropsychologist and author Paul Nussbaum, aging and wellness professor David Haber, author of “Health Promotion and Aging: Practical Applications for Health Professionals,” and experts at the National Wellness Institute – it’s the outcome of the life-long interaction of various “dimensions” of health (genetic, physical, emotional, intellectual, social, spiritual, occupational, environmental).
Where to start?
Covering healthy aging means writing about health span and the overlap between lifestyle behaviors (good and bad), genes (which pre-dispose and protect from diseases), access to health care, and national and local policies, programs, and activities that promote aging well.
To get you started, download Older Americans: Key Indicators of Well-Being: 2010, The American Society on Aging’s Demography is Not Destiny, and the National Institute on Aging’s Healthy Aging: Lessons from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. The former provide good stats and background info. The latter outlines what is and isn’t normal aging (pps. 9-13) and the importance of:
Prevention: To paraphrase Tom Perls, head of the New England Centenarian Study and author of Living to 100, the earlier prevention starts, the longer and healthier you live.
Primary prevention consists of interventions to ward off conditions often associated with aging. Both AHRQ’s guide and CDC’s preventive health tipsheet are excellent backgrounders on this topic.
Secondary prevention consists of interventions that halt or slow the progress of an illness; tertiary prevention consists of managing chronic medical conditions such as diabetes or heart disease. Excellent backgrounders and resources for covering these aspects of “prevention” (and resources to share with readers) can be found at:
- MedlinePlus
- Healthfinder
- PubMed
- The Institute of Medicine’s Clinical Practice Guidelines We Can Trust
Exercise: Considered by many to be the first pillar of healthy aging, there is abundant (many would say redundant) evidence that physical activity/exercise promotes health at all stages of life, maximizes quality of life, and lessens the impact of many diseases and disabilities.
If you have time to read only one backgrounder on this subject, make it NIA’s Exercise & Physical Activity.
Diet and nutrition: There is also abundant evidence of the overwhelmingly positive role that diet and nutrition play in promoting healthy aging and healthy brain function. The Journal of Nutrition, Health and Aging is devoted to (and a source of experts on) this topic.
Cognitive, mental, and emotional health: The role that brain health plays in cognitive, mental and emotional health began to be recognized in the 1970s. Since then, research on everything from tai chi to post-retirement volunteering to brainercizing has shown that people who participate in activities that stimulate and engage both mind and body are happier, less depressed, and have less risk of disability, dependence and dementia in later life.
Spirituality … and attitude: In the 1970s, only new-age gurus and a few “out there” physicians touted the role that spirituality, “faith,” optimism – whatever you want to call it – plays in healthy aging. Two things changed that. One is the abundance of research on the physical and mental health benefits experienced by those who have strong religious and spiritual beliefs. The other is the growing realization of the importance of spirituality and faith as people deal with the losses of old age. An excellent resource for background and info on the role spirituality plays in health and healthy aging is Stanford’s Center for Spirituality and Aging.
The Environment: Part of the environment in which healthy aging occurs (or not) is built. Another important piece of this environment – for instance a predisposition to certain diseases – is biological. Other contributors are ecological, societal or educational. And some components of healthy aging are shaped by policy and/or funding.
Almost all these factors are modifiable, and showing readers how they can individually and en mass (at the population/public health level) can change their environment to facilitate healthy aging is a major goal of writing about this topic.
Story ideas
Prevention
- Do a round-up about organizations (free clinics, disease specific organizations, dental schools, etc.) that provide free or low-cost preventive services for specific, common conditions.
- Do an article on the pros and cons of screening for diseases – such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease – for which there is not yet a cure.
- Write about problems with accessing preventive services experienced by people in the lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender (LGBT) community.
Exercise
- Do an article on 50-and- older athletes who will be participating in your state’s Senior Games and/or the Huntsman World Senior Games. Ask not just why they participate but also what they do to stay in shape.
- As we age, muscle is replaced by fatty tissue. Do an article on why it’s important to maintain muscle mass (burns calories, better balance, posture, etc.), the negative effects of not doing so, and the many different activities people can use to maintain muscle/muscle strength
- Get your news outlet to sponsor a “biggest loser” contest, and profile several people who sign up.
- Profile a community center or faith organization’s wellness programs – for youth, working-age adults, the elderly – and the benefits for participants, the organization, and the community.
Nutrition
- Do a story on the brain health benefits of a nutrient-rich diet. “Your Brain on Food” is an excellent backgrounder.
- Using information from the Environmental Working Group and interviews with local organic food growers and vendors, do a story on how to shop for the most nutritious and safe food.
- Analyze the pros and cons of using vitamin, mineral and/or nutritional supplements to maintain health for older adults.
Cognitive/Mental health
- Write about the positive physical and mental health benefits of being a “glass-half-full” (optimistic/hopeful) person, rather than a “glass-half-empty” person (pessimistic/cynical). Include a sidebar on tips and techniques (from local psychologists, psychiatrists, behavioral therapists, etc.) for increasing reader’s OQs (optimism quotients).
- Write about the brain-health benefits of computer and on-line programs and games (not gambling, however) and the cognitive “reserve” these programs help build and maintain.
- Interview local centenarians – like those being studied in the New England Centenarian Study or profiled in a recent New Yorker Magazine article on “super-agers” – that focuses on what they think it took to stay physically and mentally sharp as they aged. Best source for leads is your local Office on Aging.
Spirituality/attitude
- Do a piece on the well-documented effect spirituality has on pain management. Good background info is available from the American Pain Society.
- Look at how local support centers and hospice, palliative and pain management programs help those they serve – including family caregivers – tap into their faith or spirituality to deal with the physical and emotional pain associated with a chronic condition or end-of-life care.
Environment
- Do an article on the environmental factors in your community that do/don’t promote healthy aging. For example, if you live in a factory city, point out how pollution/smog from factories is bad for the cardiovascular system while access to parks and walking paths is good for it. Best source for insight and info: your city or county public health department.
- Showcase how your city/community is making itself aging friendly. This checklist is an excellent backgrounder on the characteristics of age-friendly communities.
- Do an article on the role housing – home, condo, apartment – plays in “enabling” healthy aging and the kinds of “environmental” modifications individuals can (and should) make in their homes and communities to enable them to age in place. The National Association of Home Builders has excellent info on this topic, and is a good source for helping find local contractors/builders to interview, too.
- Look at what demographers describe as “the unexpected consequences of longevity:”’ the huge increase in age-related diseases – Alzheimer’s, cancer, macular degeneration, etc. The following books provide excellent background info: The Longevity Revolution: The benefits and challenges of living a long life, by Robert N. Butler, MD, and The Quest for Immortality: Science at the frontiers of aging, by S. Jay Olshansky and Bob Carnes (both of whom do excellent interviews)
- Do an article on the long history of research into the role calorie restriction could play in lengthening both life-span and health span and why this solution to the long-life and obesity epidemic will probably never be implemented. Excellent background articles are available at Google Scholar
- Examine the billion-dollar “anti-aging” industry and the battle being waged against it by physicians, gerontologists and policy wonks in the “longevity medicine community.” Be sure to see AHCJ’s tip sheet on “anti-aging.”
Resources
AARP
Media contact: Richard Deutsch
202-434-3840
ppi@aarp.org
Administration on Aging’s Health, Prevention and Wellness Program
Media contact: Carol Crecy
202-357-3507
carol.crecy@aoa.hhs.gov
American Council on Exercise
Media contact: Sandra Fine
305-567-0535
ACE@rbbpr.com
American Geriatrics Society Foundation for Health in Aging
Media contact: Jill Lubarsky
800-247-4779
jlubarsky@americangeriatrics.org
Centers for Disease Prevention and Control – Healthy Aging Program
Media contact: Karen Hunter
404-639-7277
ksh7@cdc.gov
Centers for Disease Prevention and Control’s Healthy Aging Research Network, Coordinating Center
Media contact: Gwen Moni
206-616-1012
gmoni@uw.edu
Food and Nutrition Service (Department of Agriculture)
Media contact: 703-305-2281
International Council on Active Aging
Media contact: Colin Milner
866-335-9777
colinmilner@icaa.cc
Healthy Aging Council/National Association of (state-level) Chronic Disease Directors
Media contact: 770-458-7400
National Council on Aging
Center for Healthy Aging
Media contact: Ken Schwartz
202-600-3131
ken.schwartz@ncoa.org
National Alliance on Mental Illness
Media contact: Bob Carolla
703-516-7963
bobc@nami.org
National Institute of Mental Health
Media contact: Jules Asher
301-443-7855
jasher@mail.nih.gov
National Institute on Aging
Media contact: Vickie Cahan
301-496-1752
cahanv@nia.nih.gov
National Wellness Institute
Media contact Jennifer Mitchell
715-342-2969
jennifer@nationalwellness.org
Office of Dietary Supplements/National Institutes of Health
Media contact: Jody Engel
301-496-4999
jody.engel@nih.hhs.gov
Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Media contact: Jody Engel
301-496-4999
jody.engel@nih.hhs.gov
State Resources on Aging/Departments on Aging
Articles and Monographs:
“Definitions and predictors of successful aging: a comprehensive review of larger quantitative studies,” American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, January 2006 – Volume 14 – Issue 1 – pp 6-20
“Environmental influences on Aging and Behavior,” Hans-Werner Wahl
“Health Promotion/Population Health and Aging,” annotated bibliography (53 pages)
“Media Takes on Aging,” media guide published by the International Longevity Center
“Perceptions and beliefs about the role of physical activity and nutrition on brain health in older adults,” Wilcox, S, et al, The Gerontologist, vol. 49, no. S1, June 2009, pps. 61-71,
“Spirituality and the Aging Brain,” Newberg, A. B, Generations, vol. 35, no. 2, Summer, 2011, pps. 83-91,
“The Behavior Change Consortium: setting the stage for a new century of health behavior-change research,” Health Educ. Res. (2002) 17 (5): 500-511
Journals:
Aging and Mental Health
Journal of Aging and Physical Activity
Journal of Housing for the Elderly
Journal of Mental Health and Aging
Journal of Nutrition in Gerontology and Geriatrics
