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National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Chronic Disease Prevention Home | Contact Us |
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The life expectancy of Americans increased from 47 years in 1900 to 77 years in 2000. As a result, the number of people in America aged 65 or older increased from 3 million in 1900 to nearly 35 million in 1996—an 11-fold increase. By 2030, the number will have doubled to 70 million when one in five Americans will be older than 65.
Although the risk for disease and disability clearly increases with age, poor health is not an inevitable consequence of aging. People with a healthy lifestyle (i.e., people who get regular exercise, avoid tobacco use, and eat healthily) have half the risk for disability of those who do not have a healthy lifestyle.
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Almost one-third of U.S. health care costs, or $300 billion each year, are for older adults. Not including the costs of inflation and new technology, health care spending will increase by 25% between 2000 and 2030 simply because a larger percentage of the population is older than 65.
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Privacy
Policy | Accessibility This page last reviewed August 10, 2004 United
States Department of Health and Human Services |
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