Ageing Americans and Binge
Drinking Among Them.
-Biren Dulal
ENGLISH 2010
Professor: James Hirst
NOVEMBER 3, 2013.
Life expectancy is the number of years an individual is expected to live, according to statistical
estimates taking in to account sex, physical condition, occupation, and etc. In other words the
average number of years of life remaining to a person at a given age if death rates were to remain
constant is called life expectancy. In short, it represents the measure of overall health of a
population.
In United States, improvement in health and lifestyles have resulted in increased life expectancy
and contributed to the growth of the older population over the past century. The current growth
in the number and proportion of older adults in the United States is unprecedented in our nation’s
history. By 2050, it is anticipated that Americans aged 65 or older will number nearly 89 million
people, or more than double the number of older adults in the United States in 2010.
Comparatively Americans are living longer than in their previous decades and, given the postWorld War-II baby boom (people born after World War-II, between the years 1946 and 1964),
there are proportionately more older adults than in previous generations. The leading edge of the
baby boomers reached age 65 in 2011, and each and every day for the next 20 years, roughly
10,000 Americans will celebrate their 65th birthday. Even these days we can find many
Americans living in to their 70s, 80s, and beyond. In 2030 it is estimated that one in every five
Americans (about 72 million people) will be an older adult. This proportionate increase in older
adults or ageing population is also associated with decrease in birth or fertility rate. Due to busy
life, later marriage, presence of larger options of contraceptives and many other reasons, the
fertility had decreased in significant number in the industrialized countries. According to Times
Magazine, it might be more difficult to be a working parent in the U.S. than in countries
experiencing larger decreases in fertility rates because the country spends less on child care than
any other industrialized country and paid leave is not guaranteed.
Number of persons (in millions)65+, 1900-2030
80
72.1
70
60
54.8
50
40.3
40
31.2
25.5
30
16.6
20
10
35
3.1
4.9
9
0
1900
1920
1940
1960
1980
1990
2000
2010
2020
2030
Figure: Increase in number of population by different years with estimated number of population
by 2020 and 2030
Figure Sources: Projections of the Population by Age and Sex for the United States: 2010 to
2050 Population Division, U.S. Census Bureau; Release Date: August 14, 2008.
The aging of our population has wide-ranging consequences in every aspect of American
society. Its significant influence will have its most profound effects on our nation’s public health,
social services, and health care systems. It seems like Public Health is the sector established to
meet the growing needs and demands of rapidly aging nation. It plays an important role in
advocating for needy and connecting individuals and communities to available resources and
services and promoting healthy aging. Almost three decades gain in life expectancy within the
period of a century is the contribution of the effective public health strategies and advanced
medical treatment. Many dreadful diseases that claimed our ancestors are no longer the threats
for mankind. Even if still present they are no longer the leading cause of deaths they once were.
For example very few people die due to tuberculosis, diarrhea and enteritis, and syphilis these
days. However as people age, other chronic diseases and conditions started appearing and they
started becoming the greater risk and challenges for the aging group. Heart diseases, cancer,
stroke, chronic respiratory disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and diabetes started posing their greater
risks as people age.
Figure: Prevalence of two or more chronic conditions among adults aged 45 and older by age and
sex in United States, 1999-2000 and 2009-2010
Figure source: Centers for Diseases Control/National Center for Health Statistics, National
Health Interview Survey.
With aging people start living with one or more chronic diseases and start experiencing
diminished quality of life. Presence of chronic diseases affect person’s ability to perform their
activities of daily livings which restrict their involvement in the enjoyment of family and friends
which finally brings negative consequences in the life of their family and friends as well. Loss of
ability to care oneself or loss of independence leads to the need of care in their activities of daily
livings like personal hygiene, shopping, preparing meals, taking prescribed medications, and etc.
The above mentioned graph of increment in aging population and the increment of chronic
diseases among the aging population shows that the need for caregiving for older adults by
formal, professional caregivers or by family members and the need for long-term care services
and supports will increase sharply during the next several decades.
Among the developed countries, our nation has the highest expenditure for health care and is still
expected to rise continuously and considerably as chronic diseases affect growing number of
older adults. 95% of the health care cost for older Americans is spent for the chronic diseases. It
is calculated that the average cost of providing health care for one person aged 65 or older is five
times higher than the cost for someone younger than 65. By 2030 health care spending is
estimated to increase by 25% largely because the population will be older without considering
the costs of new technologies. Medicare spending is projected to increase from $555 billion in
2011 to $903 billion in 2020.
Although the risk of developing chronic diseases increases as a person ages, consequently
increasing the cost of living due to expenditure in health care, practicing healthy behaviors from
an early age and getting recommended screening can substantially reduce the risk of developing
chronic diseases and any kind of disabilities associated with it. It is because the root cause of the
development of many chronic diseases often begins with unhealthy behavior and unhealthy
eating during the early stages of life. There are numbers of opportunities and preventive
measures that exist to promote and preserve the health of older adults. Many researches has
shown that people who do not use tobacco, who get regular physical activity, and who eat a
healthy diet significantly decrease their risk of developing heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and
other chronic conditions. Individual, family, and communities can play a significant role in
achieving the goal of healthy living by making changes in policies, systems and environment that
will help American with healthy ageing.
Mostly because of the negative health behavior of the growing number of population, current
data among people aged 55–64 years do not indicate a positive future for the health of older
Americans. Among all the most indicative negative behavior is the existence of binge drinking.
Slowly and slowly it is becoming more challenging for the society to grow with dignity and
comfort. One behaviors of the ageing population, which has become more challenging for
individual, family and society is ‘Binge Drinking’. According to, Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, Alcohol and Public Health Web site, (http://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/ardi.htm),
excessive alcohol use, including binge drinking, accounts for more than 21,000 deaths among
adults 65 or older each year in the United States. Binge drinking is defined as women consuming
four or more drinks and men consuming five or more drinks on a single occasion. In 2006,
excessive drinking cost the U.S. economy $223.5 billion, or $1.90 a drink. Alcohol interacts with
the prescription or over the counter medications, which adds complications with the disease and
are sometimes fatal. It also increases the risk of developing some dreadful diseases like high
blood pressure, liver disease, certain cancers, heart disease, stroke, and many other chronic
health problems. The following figure shows the prevalence of binge drinking among the older
adults in different states of America
Figure: Prevalence of binge drinking among adults by states of America.
Figure source: Centers for Diseases Control and Preventions, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly
report, January 13, 2012
According to Task Force on Community Prevention Services, Preventing excessive alcohol
consumption (http://www.thecommunityguide.org), in response to the increase in the number of
binge drinking population, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is working with states and
communities to translate strategies for preventing excessive alcohol consumption recommended
in The Guide to Community Preventive Services (Community Guide) into public health practice.
These recommendations include increasing the price of alcohol, regulating the number and
concentration of alcohol retailers in a community, holding alcohol retailers liable for harms
resulting from illegal sales to underage or intoxicated persons, maintaining government controls
of alcohol sales (avoiding privatization), using electronic screening and brief intervention for
excessive alcohol use, and limiting the days and hours when alcohol is sold.
As a responsible member of the family, society, and the nation as a whole it is also the
responsibility of individual to stand with CDC and other supporting organizations to stop binge
drinking. It requires determination to bring an end to binge drinking. The implementation of
positive activity in order to replace negative behavior of binge drinking is very effective. Instead
of going out to the bar to celebrate some auspicious occasions, one can get out to eat, go to
movie, take a road trip, plan for hiking, or look for some different ways of enjoyment. Instead of
getting relaxed and wasted in the weekend after a long week hard work, one can have a quiet
movie night at home; see a show or sporting event in the city. Getting drunk to manage stressful
situation is not the solution. There are many challenges we must face in life, and finding the
ways to remain emotionally stable and happy on our own, without hiding behind alcohol is the
smart way to face challenges that comes across our life. Therefore it is time to educate, and get
educated to stop binge drinking and help solve this huge problem the nation is facing at present
situation.
Work citation:
1. Federal Interagency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics. Older Americans 2012: Key Indicators
of Well-Being. Federal Interagency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics. Washington, DC: U.S.
Government Printing Office. June 2012. The statistics is a great source of information about the
ageing population of United States and many different problems associated with the ageing
population. The statistical data are presented in a very clear and effective way to make the reader
understand the content of the article.
2. Multiple Chronic Conditions Among Adults Aged 45 and Over: Trends Over the Past 10
Years,Virginia M. Freid, M.S.; Amy B. Bernstein, Sc.D.; and Mary Ann Bush, M.S.). This
article provides clear information with some statistical data about the existence of come multiple
chronic conditions among the ageing population in the nation
3. Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention, the state of ageing and health in America 2013.
Atlanta, GA: Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention, US department of Health and Human
Services; 2013. This is a great article and great source of information about the state of ageing
population of the nation. Illustration of beautiful pictures of ageing population and statistical data
related to ageing population makes the article appealing for the readers.
4. A Profile
of
Older Americans: 2011; Administration on Aging
U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services. This is another great source of information that provides the information
about the distribution of ageing population and their status in different states of the nation.
5. Binge Drinking in Young Adults and Older People; Binge Drinking in the Young and Old
Published on March 5, 2012 by Eugene Rubin, M.D., Ph.D. in Demystifying Psychiatry. This is
a great article that gives the detail information about the existence of binge drinking in ageing as
well as younger population in United States.