Wellness in Action

Societal Benefits of Wellness

Does Society Actually Benefit from an Aging Population?

Hmm? Doesn't that sound opposite to what you hear from the news media?

According to a study conducted in Germany, the second "oldest" country by median age, having an increasingly older population bestows numerous benefits on that society. See if you think these positive impacts will happen in the U.S. as our populations ages as well.

More Productive: Increasing participation in the work force by people over 50 years old, plus the increase in education levels among those older workers, will result in a more productive work force overall. This is increase in productivity is projected despite a decrease in overall labor force numbers.

Greener: CO₂ emission levels change with age in an inverse U; the highest levels of carbon emissions in one's lifetime occur in the middle adult years. As people move into retirement, they tend to "consume" less. If you combine that with more people over age 70, new technologies, and greater environmental awareness, the overall carbon emissions are predicted to lower again to 1950's levels in the next 50 years. Source: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0108501

Richer: Longer life expectancy, lower fertility rates, and increased maternal age will all contribute to a greater distribution of wealth to people at older ages. This may have the effect of off-setting increased costs associated with longer lives and time needing care.

Healthier: By 2050, the average male will spend 85% of their lifetime in good health, compared to 70% today. Although the numbers are lower for women, by 2050 amount of life spent in good health will raise from 60% currently to 70%. People who live longer are often healthier and so this concept of an increasing "health expectancy" as well as "life expectancy" may become more true as time moves on.

Life-Cycle Adjustments: Using data trends and projections, the study authors found that time spent in work, housework, and leisure activities will shift as the populations ages. More time in an average person's lifespan will be spent on leisure activities and less time on work and housework. That sounds like an enhanced quality of life - do you agree?

Read the full study: Society Benefits from an Aging Population?

Community Benefits of Wellness

When aging adults are also fit, well, and vital contributors to the community, everyone benefits! Think of your family, community, and/or social group the same way you might think of a work team or corporation. You want it to run efficiently, have a good return on investment, be vibrant, and benefit everyone involved. In order to accomplish those goals in a company, there should be an organized wellness program heading up the charge! If wellness is made a priority, here are some of the documented benefits that could also apply to your own community.

1. Improved health behaviors of individual members
2. Reduction in chronic disease health risks
3. Lowered health care costs
4. Improved productivity and fewer missed days
5. Greater return on investment and financial stability
6. Enhanced engagement and retention
7. Higher morale and positive relationships

Source: https://www.wellsteps.com/blog/2018/07/04/reasons-to-have-a-wellness-program-benefits-of-wellness/

Wellness Challenges in an Aging Society

As our communities age, our society as a whole will certainly be challenged to rise to increasing needs. While some health outcomes are the result of individual choices, there are other's that are beyond a person's or communities direct control.

Jobs

Americans are estimating that they will work longer before retirement. According to Gallup Polls, the average non-retired American thought they would retire at 60 years old in 1995, whereas now that retirement age is an average of 66 years old.

Data from small New York City business, showed that there are advantages to hiring and retaining older workers, such as increased experience, skill, work ethic, retention, and networking.

Attribution: "OlderWorker" by Scott Lewis is licensed under CC BY 2.0

However, there may also be additional responsibilities involved in supporting the needs of an aging workforce and ensuring safety for all. To address this challenge the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has formed the National Center for Productive Aging and Work(NCPAW), which advances lifelong well-being for workers of all ages and supports a productive aging across the working life.

Interested in more? There is a 90 minute webinar on the Overlapping Vulnerabilities in the Aging Workforce.

Socioeconomic Status

Geographic location, education, career choices, age, race, and ethnicity can all influence your socioeconomic status, which in turn, contributes to health disparities affecting wellness. These inequities can lead to differences in many of the "-ity's": disability, longevity, vitality, and mortality.

Medical Care

Your socioeconomic status affects your access to health care and ability to get quality health care. Challenges increase when individuals, geographic regions, and communities are lacking in the basic health literacy needed to advocate for individualized quality health care. With the growing number of older adults in our society, this challenge will only continue to grow.

Long-Term Support

Where will we find the money needed to provide long term support and care for our aging population? According to the Social Security (SS) Administration, in 1950 there were over 16 workers for every SS beneficiary in the U.S., whereas we now have only about 2.5 workers for every SS beneficiary. Although Social Security is only one metric, the numbers do highlight the ongoing challenge to providing long-term support to our aging adult populations. It's a heavy burden that's being placed on current and future workers - likely affecting their own lifetime wellness path!

Maintaining Wellness on a Changing Planet

You cannot ignore that we are all affected by the environment of our compromised planet. Individual wellness, community health and longevity, plus all other living creatures, are being affected by the changes that are occurring at a rapid pace.

Our Changing Planet

Here is a dramatic 16 minute video to get you thinking about the effects of our changing planet on our wellness.

Note: You may want to adjust the video speed under the settings wheel if you are pressed for time.

Environmental Effects on Individual Wellness

Climate-related causes can have negative effects on individual health and wellness. In particular, as the planet changes we may see more of the following for humans:

• asthma and allergies
• cancers
• infectious diseases
• accidents and trauma
• developmental defects
• cardiovascular disease
• food-borne illness
• poverty
• heat-related illness
• mental health issues

Impact of Climate Change on Human Health

Climate change impacts a wide-range of health outcomes. This image illustrates the most significant climate change impacts (rising temperatures, more extreme weather, rising sea levels, and increasing carbon dioxide levels), their effect on exposures, and the subsequent health outcomes that can result from these changes in exposures.

Climate change effects on exposures → potential health outcomes:

• Extreme Heat → Heat-related illness and death, cardiovascular failure
• Severe Weather → Injuries, fatalities, mental health impacts
• Air Pollution → Asthma, cardiovascular disease
• Changes in Vector Ecology → Malaria, dengue, encephalitis, hantavirus, Rift Valley fever, Lyme disease, chikungunya, West Nile virus
• Increasing Allergens → Respiratory allergies, asthma
• Water Quality Impacts → Cholera, cryptosporidiosis, campylobacter, leptospirosis, harmful algal blooms
• Water and Food Supply Impacts → Malnutrition, diarrheal disease
• Environmental Degradation → Forced migration, civil conflict, mental health impacts

The CDC has developed a visual summary of the Climate Effects on Health - view the image and summary below and/or click on the image for an option to open a full-screen animation of the image.

Principles of Active Aging

To pull many of these wellness concepts together, the International Council on Active Aging (ICAA) has developed a Model for Active Aging geared to individuals, businesses, societies, and communities and it employs Nine Principles of Active Aging.

To pull many of these wellness concepts together, the International Council on Active Aging (ICAA) has developed a Model for Active Aging geared to individuals, businesses, societies, and communities and it employs Nine Principles of Active Aging.

ICAA's Nine Principles of Active Aging

ICAA created the Nine Principles of Active Aging to assist service providers in their efforts to provide for an aging population. The principles, when followed, will help individuals and organizations to encourage active, healthy, engaged living throughout the lifespan.

1. Populations: meeting the needs of extremely diverse population of aging adults will require diverse solutions
2. People: we will need educated, trained, and skilled people to work with the diverse aging population
3. Perceptions: we will leave behind old stereotypes of aging and create inclusive solutions for our aging population
4. Potential: there will be opportunities for individuals and organizations with emerging aging economies
5. Products: active aging adults will demand more inclusive and specific products and services for themselves and their communities
6. Promotions: often neglected older adult markets will shift in importance due to societal changes
7. Places: indoor and outdoor environments will be increasingly built for multiple functional levels to coexist
8. Policies: the human rights of older adults need to be protected through revamped inclusive policies for local, national, and global entities
9. Programs: the dimensions of wellness should guide programs in order to enhance active living for all aging adults

Visit the ICAA website to find additional information about the principles of active aging, a video explanation of EACH of the 9 principles, plus materials for active aging advocacy work at your own organization.

What Can You Do?

The best thing to do is start with yourself! For some, this is the easiest place to start and for others it's the hardest. Whichever it is for you, aim to challenge your personal actions first, before progressively increasing your circles of wellness advocacy.

Maximizing Individual Wellness

• Enhance your strengths
• Maximize motivations by being honest with yourself
• Set goals for your weak areas
• Get and maintain a community of support
• Advocate for your own health and health care
• Commit and stick with it (health behaviors, nutrition, activity)
• Forgive yourself for small backward steps
• Continually reassess your wellness

Maximizing Community and Society Wellness

• Know the population
• Never underestimate individuality in an older population
• Detail community-specific wellness challenges
• Outline community strengths and sources of support
• Connect resources inside and outside the community
• Establish a team of caring professionals and/or volunteers
• Set goals for weak areas
• Advocate for your community
• Commit and stick together
• Forgive small backward steps
• Measure wellness successes
• Continually reassess your community needs

The part can never be well unless the whole is well. - Plato