It wasn't horrible during my 20s but, I had a theory that your 30s were an important time of your life to get into those good habits or else things were going to start catching up to you after you hit the big 4-0.
Since that time, I've seen friends and acquaintances that have helped prove that theory (unfortunately).
People who didn't exercise, didn't watch what they ate really started putting on the pounds once they reached their 40s. People that I know that smoke seemed to start showing signs of aging quicker, with changes in their voice, skin starting to wrinkle, complaints of physical ailments and comments about more frequent doctor's visits. It's almost like in their mind, they lived not the best lifestyle through their 20s and 30s but didn't feel any effects of that then but now that they are in their 40s they can't comprehend why they are coming across health issues.
This article talks about a study that involved women over the age of 65 and how their overweight/obesity levels along with arthritis results in more disabilities and leads to a lower quality of life during their senior years.
"While women tend to live longer than men, this study shows that they are at greater risk of living with disability and much of the excess disability is attributable to higher rates of obesity and arthritis," Dr. Heather Whitson from Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina who presented the study, noted in a statement.
Among 5,888 men and women older than 65 years enrolled in the Cardiovascular Health Study, Whitson and her colleagues found that women suffered up to two and a half times more disabilities than men of the same age. Higher rates of obesity and arthritis among these women explained up to 48 percent of the gender gap in disability.
And here is where it gets to the point I was making:
"This is important because it suggests that women's tendency to pack on extra pounds in their child-bearing and peri-menopausal years translates into loss of independence in their old age," Whitson added. "Preventing weight gain in young to middle-aged women may decrease disability burden in later years."
And guys, don't think you're off the hook and can just eat the extra leftover pizza that your wife is now going to turned down and assume you're not going to have any additional health issues if you don't watch where your waistline is going:
Men, on the other hand, were more likely to have emphysema, heart disease, congestive heart failure, stroke, diabetes and hearing problems. They were also more likely to have trouble walking due to narrowed leg arteries.
I don't have a tattoo. If people want them, that's fine, it's just not my thing to put on my body. When I've asked a few people why they got one, they can't really answer the question too well but the normal response that I get when I ask them "Aren't you concerned how that's going to look when you get older?" I'm told "Well who cares what it looks like then!"
The point is that we really need to start looking at how are actions and treatment of our body today is going to affect what happens to us down the road. We tend to think in the "now" and the short term. I don't know about you but I'd really rather not have to take a million medications, walk with a cane, have to put a mask on to help myself breathe, etc., as long as I possibly can.
I'm not saying that I don't think you can make adjustments to how you treat your body later in life and not get results. I think you can. But I think it be a lot less painful (and less dramatic) if you give some thought to what you are doing to your body today and if it's not good, just make a few little changes and you'll see that over time, it's going to make a big difference in how you feel 20-30 years from now.
Have a good weekend.
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