How Old?
Healthy habits can help promote healthy aging
Aging is a fact of life — it’s happening to each of us ev- ery day. We can’t control the fact that we age, but we do have some control over how we age.
Chronological vs. Biological Age Not all of us age the same way. “We all have our chronologi- cal age, but some people at the age of 75 may be biologically like someone much younger because their health behaviors may have been different over the years, or because they have particularly good genes,” says Kathleen Cameron, Senior Di- rector of the Center for Healthy Aging at the National Council on Aging (NCOA).
“Some people in their fifties develop chronic diseases — such as diabetes or arthritis” — she says, “while others going into their seventies or eighties are still in good health. At NCOA, we don’t tend to look at age as just a number. We look at the whole person to figure out what they need to do to age in a healthy way and to prevent and/or manage chronic conditions.”
There are many ways we can help maintain good physical and mental health during our senior years, says Cameron. For starters, having a healthful, well-balanced diet low in fat and high in fiber while staying as active as possible will help to maintain a healthy weight, which is key to reducing the risk of chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
6 | MATTERS OF HEALTH
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