For Older Adults is Sixty-Five the New Forty-Five?

LITTLE ROCK, Ark., May 26 , 2010/PRNewswire/ -- As Americans get older, they still feel younger, according to a new survey by HealthSpan Solutions, makers of fruit-based BeneViaź nutritional beverage. Six in 10 baby boomers - ages 45 to 65 - feel five years younger than their chronological age.

Nearly all (90 percent) respondents 65 and older said they felt 10 years younger.

The perceived youth and sense of vitality may be surprising to some, given that nearly 60 percent of respondents 65 and older are managing at least one chronic health condition. Among that group, four in ten must manage at least two other health conditions - 80 percent of those conditions are related to heart health.

One possible explanation for the newfound youth: the survey respondents are already taking steps to stay healthy and active and don't want to lose their youthful attitude.

"It is clear from these results that nearly everyone wants to live longer, but no one wants to grow older," said John Troup, Ph.D., President of HealthSpan Solutions, LLC. "The good news is that this motivates many consumers to become more aware and active in using nutrition and exercise to manage healthy lifestyles."

Earlier this spring, the HealthSpan Institute - HealthSpan's nutrition research and education organization - surveyed a wide range of consumers, including members of its BeneViaź eClub, and received more than 3,000 responses from individuals ranging in ages from 19 to 80. HealthSpan confirmed the survey's results through follow-up questions with 300 respondents who consider themselves "serious health managers and nutrition beverage consumers."

The findings are the first of an annual survey from HealthSpan Institute about ways baby boomers and others can proactively address their health management needs through better nutrition and physical activity. In addition to developing BeneViaź, HealthSpan Institute helps consumers to use better nutrition as a tool for healthy aging.

"This research overwhelmingly reinforces the core value of the HealthSpan Institute and BeneVia: better nutrition promotes healthy aging and physical activity," Troup continued.

"In less than a year, more than 25,000 people have signed up for the BeneVia eClub. They are telling us that even if they are getting older, they are feeling younger and want to stay that way. More interesting, these positive attitudes help keep consumers on track to healthy living habits and practices and our products make it easier and effective for them to do so."

In addition to the consumer survey, the research included a survey of 1,200 healthcare and nutrition practitioners and research about the links between nutrition and healthy aging. Findings include:

  --  Older adults aren't getting enough protein. Six in ten adults age 65

      and up don't get the recommended daily allowance (RDA) for protein

      intake.

  --  Decreased protein and decreased activity lead to health problems. A

      lack of both protein intake and physical activity will reduce muscle

      mass, which can quickly lead to many of the diseases and conditions

      associated with aging.

  --  Older adults turn to the Internet and their practitioners for health

      information. Consumers ages 65 to 75 are twice as likely to use the

      Internet for information on health-specific nutrition products than

      consumers ages 19 to 45. One in four adults ages 55 to 75 buy products

      based only on recommendations by their healthcare practitioners; the

      only one in ten of younger set (ages 19 to 45) do the same.

  --  Spending on preventable chronic diseases accounts for 70 percent of

      healthcare expenditures for adults 65 and up. Almost 100 percent of

      those diseases can be managed through better nutrition and activity.

"Chronic health conditions can make a major impact on quality of life, but many are preventable," said Troup. "We hope that, as people age, they will take a look at how they can change their nutrition and activity to prevent chronic conditions and reclaim their youth at the same time. We believe Beneviaź can help make nutritional management more convenient as it was formulated to address the undernutrition observed and fortified with active nutrients to effectively improve health conditions."