Tag older adults

In the upper echelons of politics, there’s no shortage of men and women working well past the conventional retirement age.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., who turns 90 next month, has said she won’t seek reelection in 2024, but she continues to serve as the oldest member of the U.S. Senate, despite a recent extended medical absence and questions about her mental acuity. In the 2024 presidential election, voters are likely to face a standoff between President Biden, who will be 82 next November, and former President Trump, who will be 78.

What is the mental competency test Nikki Haley wants politicians over 75 to take? (Yahoo News) >>>

Experts have said that working into old age can be beneficial and improve longevity — but only if it’s by choice; being forced to do so for financial reasons has the opposite effect. Yet

Maybe it’s because Robin Leach’s Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous predominated my young adulthood, but when I heard the term “Lifestyle Medicine” a couple weeks ago, two images popped into my head: guru doctors with celebrity clients and Dr. Oz highlighting the latest unproven wellness theory. I thought it might be one of a long-line of health and fitness crazes that is here today, gone tomorrow, requiring a pricey investment in unregulated dietary supplements, fancy cold-pressed juices, a subscription-based app and the newest exercise equipment.

 It’s a real thing, though. And it’s been around for a long time as the first line of defense for preventing and treating chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and obesity. But it’s only been in the last decade or so that it has been recognized as a clinical specialty in which physicians can earn board certification. 

In Lifestyle Medicine, certified

Only about one in five adults exercise regularly, and that number drops to 12% for people over age 65. Working adults say the main barrier is lack of time. But having more free time, combined with a lack of structure in retirement, can also make committing to exercise a challenge.

“People’s schedules up until retirement have a lot of activity built in,” said Dr. Katie Hill, chief medical officer of Nudj Health, a Pasadena-based company that works with physicians to improve the health of older patients. 

“You’re walking to and from the car, walking around the office, getting out from your desk, going to meetings, going to