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The first serious signs of aging occur: loss of memory, middle-age spread, age spots. As 'boomeritis' sets in, there is good and bad news: You'll see the doctor more often, but you'll eat out more frequently, too.
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Appearance: Fat cells under the skin begin to diminish, so skin loses plumpness and starts to sag. The upside is you finally have movie-star cheekbones! A half-century of sun exposure takes its toll: Brown patches, or "age spots," appear on the face, hands, arms and legs.
Fertility: Women on average have their last menstrual period at 51.
Middle-age spread: People in Washington are at their most overweight in their 50s and early 60s. More than a quarter of people between 50 and 64 are obese; nearly 44 percent are overweight.
Memory: More than half of people over 50 report some memory loss, such as forgetting names and misplacing keys. This usually doesn't result from illness but from normal, age-related changes in the brain. Simple steps like taking time to remember things and making lists can help.
Eyesight: Vision begins to decline rapidly in the 50s. It becomes difficult to see in low light and to focus on objects at different distances, and eyes become susceptible to glare.
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Eating out: Around Puget Sound, more than 20 percent of people in their 50s eat at a sit-down restaurant six times a month or more. That's more often than any other age group.
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How do I look? Men say they first started looking old to themselves at 52. Women don't feel the same for another eight years.
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When you fell off your bike at age 10, chances are you hopped back on and any bruises faded quickly. At 50, you're not so resilient. A biking spill, a too-sudden move on the basketball court, even a little misstep on the hiking trail, can leave you hobbling into work on Monday morning.
In the 40s and 50s, the body's muscles, tendons, ligaments and joints start to show their age; they lose elasticity and become vulnerable to overstretching and tears. The result: twisted ankles, sprained hamstrings, tendinitis. It's no wonder that baby boomers, the first generation trying en masse to stay active on their aging frames, have spawned a term for the resulting strains and pains: "boomeritis." Banged-up boomers visit doctors for more than 1 million sports injuries a year.
But it doesn't have to be a slow crawl to the finish line after 40. The risks of sedentary living far exceed the risks of regular physical activity. Injuries generally occur when folks who sit in front of a computer five days a week decide over the weekend to run wind sprints or dart across the tennis court. Regular exercise, including weight training and stretching, keeps tissues supple, stabilizes joints and helps prevent the Monday morning walk of shame.
How to prevent boomeritis:
· Don't cram all physical activity into the weekend.
· Learn proper techniques from trainers and golf pros.
· Warm up properly.
· Stretch every day.
· Participate in varied activities to avoid repetitive injuries.
· Increase activity by only 10 percent each week.
- Julia Sommerfeld, Seattle Times staff
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| 'Life is too beautiful to stop moving.' |
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Photographed on Sept. 25, 2003 by Harley Soltes,
Seattle Times staff |
Jamshid Khajavi, 50
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Residence: Kirkland
Occupation: elementary-school counselor
Personal: single
Khajavi was born in Iran and immigrated to the United States at 22. He worked with deaf children for 17 years before becoming a counselor at Gatzert Elementary School in Seattle nine years ago. Khajavi is an endurance swimmer, biker and runner. He celebrated his 40th birthday by biking from San Diego to New York in 31 days.
Teachings of children: Khajavi does much of his guidance counseling on the run - literally. He uses sports to teach kids about anger management and empathy and to instill self-esteem. The majority of the students at Gatzert are black, Asian and Hispanic. Many come from low-income homes, and some have passed through homeless shelters. "I've learned a lot from children. Playing is the most important thing in life."
Ultra-athlete: In August, Khajavi became one of about 100 people officially recognized as having swum across the Strait of Gibraltar (it took him 6 hours, 15 minutes). Khajavi previously had made two unsuccessful attempts at crossing the strait from Spain to Morocco, about nine miles apart at their closest. In 2001, Khajavi finished 111th in the Western States Endurance Run in California, a 100-mile trail race. He also has raced in the Susitna 100 wilderness race in Alaska, where racers run, bike, ski and otherwise cross 100 miles of arctic trails.
Why do it?: Khajavi loves the exhilaration that comes from reaching difficult goals. "If you don't have more goals, the void will affect you. Life stops. Before I finish one thing, I have another thing" lined up. Those pursuits take money and especially time. Khajavi says it helps that he is single and childless.
The mental edge: Khajavi says he's getting better as he gets older. He can't run or swim as fast as he used to. But endurance races demand more psychological stamina than physical prowess. That's why many endurance-race participants are in their 30s or older. "You've got to be mentally strong to go beyond the physical pain. Young people haven't developed that." In fact, Khajavi is training to reach his peak when he's 60. "I think it's going to be fantastic to be 90. I want to be like this until the day I expire. Life is too beautiful to stop moving."
- Kyung M. Song, Seattle Times staff
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Deflate that spare tire: Middle-age spread is a very dangerous form of weight gain because abdominal fat increases the risk of diabetes and heart disease. Daily aerobic exercise is needed to burn calories and strengthen the heart and lungs, while weight training staves off muscle loss and prevents frailty in later years.
Cancer screening: Plan a screening schedule for colon cancer, the second-leading cause of cancer deaths. Starting at age 50, this may involve some of the following checks: a stool test every year or two, a barium enema every five years, a sigmoidoscopy every five years and a colonoscopy every 10 years.
Get flu shots: Every fall after 50 you should get a flu shot. The flu kills about 36,000 people each year.
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Boost your calcium: Increase your calcium intake to 1,200 milligrams a day, about four cups of milk, to help prevent osteoporosis. Women can lose up to 20 percent of their bone mass in the five to seven years after menopause.
Prostate screening: Men should consider prostate-cancer screening. Some doctors recommend a yearly digital rectal exam and prostate-specific antigen blood test for men over 50, though the benefits of the tests are still being studied.
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