Healthy aging defined by the World Health Organization is a continuous process of optimizing opportunities to maintain and improve physical and mental health, independence, and quality of life throughout the life course. In general, healthy aging is engaging in behavior that extends our healthy life span free of chronic disease or chronic illness.
To differentiate, chronic disease is defined on the basis of the biomedical disease classification such as obesity, adult-onset diabetes, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, autoimmune diseases, cancer, neurodegenerative disease, and depression.
Chronic illness is the personal experience of living with the affliction that accompanies chronic disease with symptoms such as weight gain, low energy, melancholy, brain fog, pain, bloating, and irritable bowel.
Chronic illness affects 1/3 of American adults and 1/2 of adults over the age of 60, most of which are related to modifiable lifestyle factors. Americans have been “lulled into a norm” that chronic illness is normal aging but I have to remind patients that a bulging midline is not a “right of passage” and spending your “golden years” looking for your keys or sitting at the doctor’s office to get your scripts filled is “not” normal aging.
The intent of the online wellness program is to increase awareness of how the healthy evolution of our relationship with movement and nourishment has been disrupted by the industrialization of agriculture. Combined with fast processed foods and modern sedentary lifestyles, we have the perfect storm for an epidemic of chronic illnesses. “No fault of yours”, guilt is not a good motivator for behavior change and can be counterproductive. “Good news,” increased knowledge & awareness of the benefits of adequate movement and nourishment are good motivators. Most people are making some healthy choices. The intent of the program is to help determine a baseline for healthy behaviors, focus on “enhancing” those healthy behaviors and serve as a compass directing one toward their wellness destination.
A paradigm shift in our relationship with nourishment and movement from the external guilt-driven “I should” to a more internally driven self-compassionate choice to live one’s best life.
