And while we might not be able to keep from getting the diseases, we may be able to ward off the disability associated with disease by eating right, not smoking, exercising and controlling blood pressure and cholesterol, said James Mortimer, PhD, director of the University of South Florida Institute on Aging.
Diseases strike very democratically.
The key to growing old successfully is avoiding the disability that accompanies disease. Dr. Mortimer studied 466 Charlotte County, FL, residents between the ages of 60 and 84, examining the group's health status, disease risks and quality of life. One of the study's major goals is to understand why some people age so successfully while others spend their later years frail and sick. Furthermore, when their balance was tested, the Charlotte County residents were twice as likely to be able to stand unassisted with one foot in front of the other. USF researchers are collecting data to determine why this is so.