…Baby Boomers: fitter and healthier than younger generations…

An in depth survey run by a leading mobility and daily living aids provider has shown that Baby Boomers feel fitter and healthier than their younger Generation X and Millennial counterparts.

There was a recent study conducted in the UK comparing the fitness of the Baby Boomer generation to the current generation. 14.7 million people in the UK were estimated to be in the over 60 year old age group  (and the number of over 65 year olds is rising by 278,800 per year 1).  This yields limited health care access to older generations because of the older population and the unhealthy younger population that is also needing health care services.

There was a survey done to understand how the UK nation viewed fitness and diet.  This also includes how different generations feel about their own health, NRS Healthcare, in a survey of 14 questions.

The questions were divided into two topics:

  • Fitness – including how people choose to work out, how often and how important they believe exercise to be
  • Diet – including how different generations define their diet, the different types of diet they have tried and whether they take vitamins to maintain their health.

These survey questions were answered by 122 people aged over 18 in the UK. The age groups were then divided into three social generations:

  •  Millennials: 18-35
  •  Generation X: 35-55
  •  Baby Boomers: 55+

Fitness

Baby Boomers came out top when discussing fitness: 86% of Baby Boomers described themselves as “average or above average” in fitness.  72% of Generation X and  69% of Millennials gave a similar response.

Being  healthy and strong are important as realizing how poor health and fitness can affect our daily lives.  When the survey asked “How important is being physically strong to you?”, 100% of Baby Boomers indicated that it was  important compared to 97% of Generation X and 92% of Millennials.

The survey was also able to identify that Baby Boomers  spend more time exercising.  43% of Baby Boomers stated that they exercise regularly throughout the week and 29% of Baby Boomers committing 6-10 hours  of exercise each week. These values are compared to 24% of Generation X saying that they exercise most days and 21% of Millennials.  45% of Millennials say that they spend 0-1 hours exercising each week.

Walking was found to be the popular mode of exercising across all generations. 46% of Millennials, 42% of Generation X and a 72% of Baby Boomers stated walking to be their favorite mode of getting their heart rate up to exercise.

1 http://www.ilcuk.org.uk/index.php/publications/publication_details/the_age_audit_delivering_a_business_response_to_ageing

 

Diet

It is clear that diets vary from generation to generation. 100% of Baby Boomers stated that their diet were healthy, 79% of Generation X and 72% of Millennials stated that they have a healthy diet.

The Atkins diet was the most poplar with 28%  Millennials and for 36%, and for 52% of Baby Boomers. The survey indicated that Millennials have tried more varied dieting methods than any other generation.  Some of the diets that were tried varied from the following: juice cleanses, teatoxes, low carb diets, and many other.

100% of Baby Boomers indicated that their diet was healthy, but 72% admitted that they actually ate breakfast every day. The survey discovered that breakfast was the most favored meal to 77% os Generation X and  54% of Millennials. The survey also showed that 45% of Millennials and Generation X  take the vitamins, compared to the 28% of Baby Boomers.

  • Data from this article can be found at NRS Healthcare.  It is a leading provider of daily living aids and community equipment, with a heritage spanning 70 years. Their Head Office is based in Bardon, Coalville. They offer 3000 daily living aids for purchase and operate over 17 community equipment loan service contracts on behalf of local authorities and the NHS, including the contract for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. They are members of the British Healthcare Trades Association (BHTA) and adhere to the Trading Standards Institute (TSI) consumer code. www.nrshealthcare.com

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