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Page: << Prev | 1 | 2 | 3 However, racial disparities existed, with net worth among whites 65 and older six times that of older African-Americans. And, more older Americans, particularly women, continued to work after 55.
The report was prepared by the Federal Interagency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics, which represents 15 agencies responsible for collecting data on aging. The last report was released in 2006.
One expert thinks that lack of physical activity and lack of social activity are the two biggest factors affecting the health of older Americans.
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"It's kind of sad when you think about all the money and all the effort that has gone into physical activity awareness and that the actual amount has not increased over the last 10 years," said Colin Milner, chief executive officer of the International Council on Active Aging. "What that is saying is, we're doing something wrong."
Milner thinks new ways of getting people to be more active are needed. People don't realize that only a little physical activity can have a major impact on their health, he said.
"People see athletic activity, and they say: 'Forget it. I can't do that, I'm old,' " Milner said."We can save roughly $77 billion in health-care costs by increasing physical activity," he noted.
Milner said he's also concerned that older people spend too much time watching TV and becoming socially isolated.
"How long is it going to be before we engineer socialization out of our lifestyle," Milner said. "By 2020, depression will be the second-leading cause of premature death according to the World Health Organization. And now, you're taking socialization out of a lifestyle."
More information
To see the full report, visit the U.S. Federal Interagency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics.
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