Today is your day Boomer! You know, it is a dreadful thing to talk about....but necessary, I think, at times in a Baby Boomer blog like this. It is death...and life expectancy rates. Well, the latest numbers from Stats Canada are not good and really it is no surprise. COVID, in the last two years, has taken its toll on all age groups in our nation....especially, vulnerable seniors. Canada has suffered through almost 3 million cases and 33,000 deaths, many of these coming about in senior care facilities. It means the life expectancy rate has dropped from 82.3 to 81.7, the biggest decline in our nation since 1921! COVID accounted for the third most deaths last year and some were younger people. Youth were also greatly affected by two other categories that are on the rise: drug overdoses and alcohol-related deaths. By the way, the decline was greater for men, at 0.7 years, than women, who saw the average life expectancy fall by 0.4 years. On the positive side, other countries--like the US, Spain, and Italy--saw their rates drop by much more....about a year and half, and Canada's life expectancy is still amongst the highest in the world! Boomers, if we look at averages, it means most of us have about two more decades to live! So, let's make the most of it. Have a great, active day! Cheers!
Today is your day Boomer! Baby Boomers, another health benefit is back! It is backward walking and the trend-often associated with the 1980s-is making a return as grey-haired wonders, like you and I, look for new-or-newish ideas to help keep us fit! According to cbc.ca, "walking backwards has shown that there's less impact on the joints by using these different muscles — and it can increase flexibility and even help alleviate back pain." One 62-year-old Boomer says "Every time I walk, I just do a little twirl and walk backwards for a bit, and I'll do it just a few times during my walk." It may look a little unusual and may get a few laughs from passersby....by consider the actual benefits. Clinical exercise specialist André Noël Potvin says "When you start to walk backwards, you actually start to rebalance the forces around the ankle, knee, hip and lower back." This really helps Boomers recovering from knee surgery and older Boomers who are havi...
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