A new study brings some depressing statistics. Baby Boomers report more health problems and more pain and difficulty in performing daily tasks than did their predecessors just 10 years ago.

Recent studies have shown the rate of disability among those 65 and older to be declining but these statistics suggest that in 10 years, boomers may not be enjoying the same rate of good health. Researchers compared self-reported health in three age groups – those born in 1936-41 (now ages 66 to 71), 1942-47 (now ages 60 to 65) and 1948-53 (now ages 54 to 59).

The study showed:

* The two younger groups were less likely than the oldest group to have said their health was “excellent or very good” at 51 to 56 years of age.
* The youngest group reported having more pain, chronic health conditions, and drinking and psychiatric problems than people who were the same age 12 years earlier.
* Compared with the oldest group, the youngest group was more likely to have reported difficulty in walking, climbing steps, getting up from a chair, kneeling or crouching, and doing other normal daily physical tasks.

So, what happened? Researchers suggest that it may be the rising incidence of obesity and obesity-related problems such as diabetes and heart disease.

I wonder if there isn’t a psychological aspect to these physiological findings. The oldest group, born during The Great Depression and World War II, experienced more hardship and had parents who experienced more hardship than did the subsequent generations. The boomer generation is the one that celebrated youth, the generation least comfortable with the idea of growing old, the generation that proclaimed distrust for anyone over 30. Boomers may the be generation most uncomfortable with the physical evidence of aging, and therefore take more notice of it.

Whatever the reason, the data suggest that the boomer generation may not reach retirement age as active individuals refusing to leave the work force but instead contribute to rising health care costs.