What Americans Think About Aging and Health

PARADE – February 5, 2006 – Page 15

PARADE and Research!America, the nonprofit organization that advocates for medical research, recently polled a cross-section of 1000 Americans on their attitudes about aging. Following are the concerns of Americans regarding aging and its effects on health.

Our Main Concern. More than a third of Americans (37%) said poor, declining health was their main concern about growing old. That was followed by financial concerns (23%).

Our Greatest Fear. More than twice as many Americans (62%) fear losing their mental capacity as they age as those who fear a diminished physical capacity (29%).

How Much of the Aging Process do we Control? The majority of Americans (84%) believe there are things they can do to control the aging process.

How Many of Us are Taking Action. A majority of Americans (83%) say they are taking action now to stay healthy as they age.