Healthy Aging: After 50

Health and vitality matter at every stage of life. However, after the age of fifty, you may start thinking more about how to maintain your health as you grow older. That is why, whether you’re concerned about gaining weight, sexual drive, or developing chronic diseases, committing to a healthy lifestyle plays an important role in preserving your well-being throughout the aging process. Eating reasonable portions of a variety of nutritious foods and keeping your diet quality high can provide meaningful support for healthy aging (see the U.S. National Institute on Aging—Healthy Eating). In addition, getting physical activity regularly is strongly associated with healthier aging and can help reduce the risk of chronic conditions (see the CDC: Adults 50 and Older Need More Physical Activity).

If your interest in maintaining your health as you get older leads you to consider anti-aging treatments, be cautious. Supplements or expensive treatments that claim to slow down—or stop—the aging process may not deliver on their promises. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has warned that some dietary supplements marketed as anti-aging therapies may pose potential harm to seniors, especially when advertising makes unsupported claims (see: GAO report on anti-aging products). You should also be careful with marketing that sounds like medical treatment while lacking strong scientific evidence. In general, regulation and enforcement actions by agencies such as the FDA and FTC show that health claims about serious conditions can be misleading when not properly substantiated (see the FTC & FDA warning letters related to supplement claims).

Likewise, diets that strictly forbid certain types of foods can be harmful. Pay attention to what you buy, and be aware of how to recognize suspicious marketing tactics. And always remember: there is no quick fix for staying healthy as you age.