Are young Americans getting sicker?

"I thought this would be the time when we’d be preparing for the rest of our lives: earning money, going on fun vacations, having families, building our careers. And we are, but at the same time, we’re doing it while we’re trying to manage pain symptoms, chase down prescriptions, and secure stable health insurance. When I was in college, I remember being prepared to survive in the workforce, but I don’t remember a class that told me how to do that if half of your household is in so much pain on some days that they can’t get to work. I’m barely over 30. I thought I had so much more time before I had to think about this stuff."

"I wondered if this was normal. Do we know so many people who are dealing with pain because people are just getting sicker in general?"

Living Sick and Dying Young in Rich America

Research: Physical activity and consumption of fruits and vegetables lengthen life in women 70-79 years of age

Study: Fruit and Vegetable Intake, Physical Activity, and Mortality in Older Community-Dwelling Women

Publication: Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, May 2012

Goal: “To examine the relationship between fruit and vegetable intake, physical activity, and all-cause mortality in older women.”

Participants: 713 women aged 70 to 79 years

Measurements: “Total serum carotenoids, a marker of fruit and vegetable intake, and physical activity were measured at baseline. Physical activity was measured according to kilocalorie expenditure.”

Results: “The most active women were more likely to survive than the least physically active women.  …Women in the highest tertile of total carotenoids were more likely to survive those in the lowest.”

Conclusion: “The combination of low total serum carotenoids and low physical activity, both modifiable risk factors, strongly predicted earlier mortality. These findings provide preliminary support that higher fruit and vegetable intake and exercise improve survival.”