One of the answers to how baby boomers are adjusting to aging can be summarized in one word: fighting. The generation of the baby boomer has demonstrated a stronger drive and desire to stay looking and feeling young for as long as they possibly can than any other generation in history. A century ago, the life expectancy of the average American was just 45 years. Since then, the expected life span has been increasing to about 70 to 75 years. But now, experts are claiming that those boomers now entering an age range heretofore labeled as senior citizens are justified in expecting that they could achieve life spans of 90 to 100 years and do so actively and in relatively good health. The only impediments are the current tendency toward obesity and lifestyle illnesses.

The reason for anticipating an extended life span in part can be attributed to significant advances in medical research and medical technology. But, that is not the entire story. It has to be acknowledged that baby boomers are responding to aging by taking a pro-active approach through the kinds of choices they are making in an all out effort to battle the ravages of time and slow down the aging process.

Clearly, the baby boomer generation is not satisfied to simply sit back and ease into old age. They are staying physically active, challenging themselves mentally, staying involved in community affairs and entrepreneurship, and are more intensely focused on health and nutrition than previous generations. At an age when their predecessors were winding down and preparing to go home to quiet retirement and aging in private, the boomer crowd is staying engaged and is redefining the role of the aging population. If any group will manage to destroy the myths surrounding old age, basically that the lights go out along with a fade into uselessness, it will be the baby boomers.

Baby boomers know that feeling younger and looking better is about more than just how a person looks on the outside and what sort of bill of health they receive from their doctor. They know it also has a great deal to do with how a person feels about themselves, the attitude about aging and reaching certain milestones of age, and how they take on the challenges of the aging process. There has been increased recognition from experts about the importance of mental fitness and health and this is one of the foremost ways we can see that baby boomers are staying on top of aging. Ask almost any boomer and you will hear them talk about how you are only as old as you believe yourself to be - lots of recalculating here.

But, the generation of the baby boomer is realistic, too, and they are well-educated and savvy. Just watch the trends of this demographic group and you will see that baby boomers are handling aging by taking better care of themselves physically in their combat against the aging process. Making time for regular exercise is much more important to this group than it was to their parents. And, because of the technological advancements that have become part of the general lifestyle, this is a good thing because most boomers don't have the same kinds of physical demands from daily life put on them as was the case in earlier generations.

How baby boomers are handling aging can also be seen in their focus on nutrition. Many boomers learned years ago about the benefits of taking nutritional supplements. They are also more aware of the impact of their diet on their overall health and on how well, or how poorly, they age. Baby boomers are using all the tools conferred by medical advances and in a better understanding of nutrition and exercise to fight the good fight against aging and are blazing the trail for those who follow to live longer, healthier lives.

You would think that the world's richest nation ought to outstrip other countries by a comfortable margin in light of the fact that it spends more on health care than any of the others. Not so! Japan leads the world where women born today can expect to live to 86. In 41 countries, newborns have a greater average life expectancy greater than in America. Even Jordan does better. While the U.S. prides itself on the belief that it has the best health system in the world, that notion is clearly belied by the fact that U.S. life expectancy has fallen from 11th two decades ago to 42nd.

A number of factors can be cited. Among them are:

• 45 million Americans lack health insurance
• Obesity is on the rise
• Racial disparities - Black Americans live shorter lives
• Higher infant mortality

The top 15 causes of death in the U.S. for 2005 were:

1. Heart disease
2. Cancer
3. Stroke
4. Chronic lower respiratory diseases (lung diseases)
5. Accidents
6. Diabetes
7. Alzheimer's disease
8. Influenza and pneumonia
9. Kidney disease
10. Septicemia (a serious blood infection)
11. Suicide
12. Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis
13. High blood pressure
14. Parkinson's disease
15. Homicide

In all probability, the U.S. will not move up the life expectancy charts until a lot more Americans are covered by health insurance. That won't begin to occur until the endless debates over how to achieve this, if at all, reach a conclusion. Beyond that, reduction of the incidence of heart disease and cancer along with further inroads toward reducing tobacco and alcohol use, controlling blood pressure, reducing cholesterol and regulating blood sugar will help to reverse this downward trend.

If there is to be improvement in American life expectancy, it probably is a long way off, given what's required.

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