Yesterday's news reported that the projection for 2050 is that more than 80% of Americans will be obese or overweight. I remember when 80% of Americans were right-weighted. That's what I call it - right-weighted. Not below or above. Just average and normal. That's long-gone now, isn't it? But will I be here in 25 years to see all that wobbly walking around?
Maybe, or maybe not. There's a two page spread in the Globe and Mail about research on "SuperAgers" - really old people who have very "sharp" brains. They are at least over 80with a brain that has memory performance of a 50 or 60 year old.
I guess the implication is that the rest of us might get to a great old age, and have a brain to match the age. Which doesn't sound good. But then we likely won't have the cognitive skills to worry about obesity.
Once a research topic starts, then it takes off into the realm of self-improvement. There they are - articles about the "habits of SuperAgers' - as though it is something to be developed. That's that fixation on nurture over nature - we want control of these things. For example, here's what these SuperAgers do: live an active lifestyle, challenge themselves, are social butterflies with strong social connections and lots of social activities. One article says they talk to their friends a lot.
We seem to never be free of those who want us to "better ourselves" to become "better selves". So it used to stop with the "10 things women over 50 should never wear." They don't bother to tell us over-70 year olds what not to wear very much. We can expectt the articles get more frequent with the 10 things women over 80 should do every day and what not to wear doing them.
Compare that to the real estate section in the Globe with a two page article on a Grimsby Beach Painted Lady for sale at $900,000. It is a wonderful rticlel with beautiful pictures. Wouldn't that be a SuperAger in the housing category! The community started in 1859 - one of the Methodist Camps that joined in the Chautauqua community movement in the 1870s.
