If everyone did them, our national health-care budget would shrink and we would all live longer, healthier, more comfortable lives. The three top health issues for men in their 40s and 50s are arteriosclerosis, prostate enlargement and colon cancer. Prevention strategies include staying away from cigarettes, decreasing dietary fat, getting a rectal exam every one to two years and getting a colonoscopy at age 50. Women in this age group have slightly different concerns. While men need to take enough calcium and to get enough exercise, women develop bone loss much earlier and more rapidly than men, and osteoporosis itself is a risk factor for a lot of the other things that go wrong.
Osteoporosis is probably the single most prevalent problem of aging women.
Women also need to stay away from cigarettes and to engage in weight-bearing exercise to protect against arteriosclerosis, and they also need cancer screening. For women, this includes mammography and Pap tests as well as colonoscopy. Medical conditions such as high blood pressure, arthritis, stomach problems or others naturally dictate more frequent visits. Today's baby boomers have many advantages over previous generations. A result is that boomers are generally healthier than people of previous generations.