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Ever wonder, how various regions in your state fare in terms of the number of Seniors, their health and wellbeing? Well, if you live in the state of Missouri, wonder no more. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services publishes an annual report on this very same subject. You can find their latest report here. Use the quick links on the left of the report to access various sections of the report. Be sure to check the box titled ‘Data and Maps’ and use the ‘interactive data reports’ option to create your own custom reports and analysis of this information. 

Based on the data, the senior population is increasing in the southwest part of Missouri. You can also see how each county fares in taking care of its seniors, using the county profile tables.

The report, first of its kind in the nation, as per this article can be a planning tool for seniors, Boomers as well as service organizations and businesses. Projections are available for years 2010, 2020 as well.

According to Charisse Pappas, a spokeswoman for the Missouri department of health and senior services, “The surge in the senior population is the biggest public policy issue of our time. Seniors will outnumber youth and children for the first time in history by 2050.

I guess it’s time for other states to follow suit and compile similar reports. A quick search did not indicate the existence of such report in other states.

Can you believe that sports related injuries are the no. 2 cause for doctor visits, behind common cold?

Can you believe that this is because we have come to expect to be able to continue our regular exercise routine into our 50’s, 60’s or even 70’s?

If you don’t, read this New York Times article and find out why. Some in medical circles have a new name for this syndrome, Boomeritis.

In summary, by continuing to exercise in our middle and later years, we try to keep our body healthy and fit and more active, no doubt. But at the same time, we have to listen to our body and be careful to not stretch it to the point that it experiences breakdowns. You know, as active as you may be, as we age we lose the strength, the stamina and so at 60 your body cannot do the things you easily did when you were 30. So tone your workout routines to your age and listen to your doctor.

As we get older and get busier in life, sometimes life becomes so mechanical and in the process we lose sight of our priorities; priorities such as our health, our families, etc – the aspects of our lives that are so crucial. Considering that as we age, we are at increased risk for developing health related issues, it seems that we should be more disciplined to work out regularly to maintain our health. Yet, it has been reported regularly that many people don’t exercise or if they do then they cannot maintain the discipline over long periods of time. If you do not share in this experience, congratulations and wish you all the best to keep up the discipline and thereby your health. If you have difficulty motivating yourself to either begin or maintain your workout plans, don’t lose hope. You can probably help yourself by trying the imagination technique. If this interests you, read below…

(Caution: If you are so scared of bad health that if thinking about it makes you sick or if you are a heart patient, this technique may not be appropriate for you. You should probably skip the next paragraph)

The imagination technique to motivating yourself: Take a piece of paper, draw a horizontal line about half way and list out the illnesses or health complications (across the page) that you are at risk to developing. For each health issue you listed, imagine if you did get it how it would affect your health, your abilities and your lifestyle. You can be creative here and imagine having a bad case of these illnesses. The more vividly you can visualize these situations, the better. Think how it would limit your activities, affect your independence and the people you love and care about.  Now below the line (or the bottom half of the page), list out what you could do, starting from now, in terms of exercising, playing sports, etc.  Again get creative and imagine the best now, list out what benefits or gains you can produce for yourself by regularly following your plan for workout.  If you listed any activities that involve a group of people, be sure to list out the social benefits of the activity such as networking, or hanging out with people you like, etc. Again the more creative you are and the more vividly you can imagine yourself living healthy and well, the better this technique will work for you. Hope this fun, little exercise motivated you to take that next step.

Here is another story to help you get motivated to hopefully take those crucial steps toward maintaining your health. The New England Boomers covered in this story have come up with a unique way to commit themselves and keep them motivated to work out regularly by way of playing their favorite sport, soccer. By forming over-the-hill soccer leagues and having fun playing their favorite game and at the same time working out physically, may be they are heralding the beginning of a new trend. Do you have a soccer league in your place or may be you love another sport and can gather around a few friends to regularly play and have fun.
This story shows us that we can come up with creative solutions to our problems if we are really serious about it and are open to opportunities. So let’s get creative and resourceful. What are you doing to keep yourself fit and healthy into your old age? What do you do to keep yourself motivated? What works and what doesn’t work for you? Please share your thoughts/comments.