Well
A New Perspective on Staying Young
Lois Wadsworth talks with Eugene writers Lauren Kessler and
Tom Hager on their new book, Staying Young.
HERE IS A KIND
of desperation in
the title that we
don’t agree with
philosophically,” says journalist (and
associate professor) Lauren Kessler
on the new book co-authored by her
and medical and scientific free-lance
journalist Thomas Hager. Staying
Young, published by Facts On File
Publications, was released August 1.
“The idea is that we do age, but we
can have a high quality life as we age.”
Aging Well, their working title for
the book, was changed to Staying
Young for marketing purposes. “The
whole theory behind the book is to
use whatever cards you’re dealt ge
netically to your best advantage, to
age as gracefully as possible,” Tom
says. “The idea is not that we can stay
young, or that that’s a value people
should have,” Lauren adds.
As the leading edge of the baby
boomers reaches the shores of the
40’s, and the largest demographic
bulge in the history of the world chal
lenges all the institutions and social
attitudes in its path, the hope is that
aging itself will not only become
more acceptable, but that people will
begin preparing themselves in a
positive sense to live healthy lives
earlier.
“So many of the things we've been
fed about growing older are incor
rect,” Tom says. “Gerontology is a
young field. The first large-scale long
term studies set up in the 1950’s are
just now getting results,” he says,
noting that these studies have followed
the same people through their active
and healthy 30’s, 40’s, and into their
50’s. Earlier studies were frequently
done on inactive, ill, hospital popu
lations of older people. Unfortunate
ly, these earlier studies became “stan
dards” that encouraged the stereo
types of older people as weak or
wasted that still persist in the public
mind.
To get the latest information, Tom
and Lauren searched computer data
bases and researched the scientific
and medical literature on gerontology
available through Sacred Heart, the U
of O, and Oregon Health Sciences lib
raries. They wanted to know what
constitutes normal aging in order to
determine the effects of habits and
lifestyle on the normal processes of
the body as it grows older.
What they found is not startling—
that moderate life-long exercise and
good solid nutrition are the keys to ag
ing well—but backed by thorough re
search, it is convincing.
“Most people think of exercise as
a way to keep your weight down and
stay fit, and that’s certainly true,”
Lauren says. She points out that exer
cise is not only important for weight
control, it is central to health as we
grow older. It keeps the joints in
working order, maintains muscle
tone, brings stress under control,
keeps the bones healthy, and aids the
digestive system’s functioning.
Tom reminds us that we evolved
from hunters and gatherers who
worked hard for long periods of time.
The evidence suggests that many of
The hope is that
aging itself will not
only become more
acceptable, but that
people will begin
preparing themselves
in a positive sense to
live healthy lives
earlier.
FIX **Weeewet
PHOTO BY DUNCAN McDONALD
Authors Tom Hager and Lauren Kessler.
the chronic ailments of old age are a
result of not working hard enough.
The old fashioned attitude toward
older people was “take it easy, hold
back, don’t overdo it,” as if the body
just wore out as it aged. But current
research holds that an under-used
body “rusts out” before it wears out.
Exercise. “Use it or lose it” is true.
It’s never too late or too early to
begin taking care of the body you are
born with. The book is dedicated to
Lauren’s grandmother, Dorothy Falk,
a “lively, irascible” woman who lived
an active life to age 94, and to Lauren
and Tom’s 18-month old son, Jackson
Kessler Hager.
Clearly, Tom Hager and Lauren
Kessler consider good nutrition, exer
cise, biofeedback, meditation and
relaxation techniques reasonable “al
ternatives” to a 40 percent fat diet that
clogs the arteries and results in
$10,000 triple- or quadruple-bypass
surgery. They found it comforting that
common sense pays off for long-term
health. “When older people exercise,
the cardiovascular system responds
almost immediately. It’s (nearly)
never too late to change bad habits,”
Tom says.
Lauren says she thinks the baby
boom generation will insist on dif
ferent images of aging. “They don’t
want to see images of themselves con
stipated or playing a little round of
golf. They want to see what they want
to be. This hard sell consumer mar
keting is disgusting, but it may be the
saving grace.” Tom says, “The mar
keting people are going to follow this
population into its 60‘s." Lauren adds,
“Our generation . . . will be the mar
keting people into our 60’s.”
Staying Young is a practical, down
to-earth guide on how to minimize the
effects of growing older. Written with
out jargon in an entertaining and easy
to-follow style, the book is full of tips
and fascinating facts.
"Thunder thighs, saddlebags,
love handles, spare tires—some
75 million Americans are weary
warriors in the battle of the
bulge. But studies show that
less than one dieter in 10 is
able to lose 20 pounds and
keep it off for a year. One
reason is that fat cells in the
body are easily created and
never die. They require very
little energy to maintain them
selves, and while they shrink in
size, they are still there waiting
to plump up again. The lesson
here: Try not to accumulate fat
cells to begin with."
Arm yourself with the latest infor
mation on the aging process, and
learn how you can improve your
chances of living a long, healthy life.
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