The first-ever national survey on attitudes toward health and aging found that Americans in their 30s are the least likely to believe they will age better than their parents.
MARK J. TERRILL, ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE
Among the pessimists about aging was a Woodbury woman so busy whisking her two daughters to their Saturday activities that she had a bag of chips for lunch. Meanwhile, her father, a retired pastor, was training for an Ironman. “I don’t think, when I’m 50, I will be able to train for an Ironman,” Kati Cheney said.
Matt Vlahos is pretty sure he’ll age better than his parents — what with the kickboxing, the yoga and the pickup hoops that consume the 30-year-old’s lunch hours at Life Time Athletic in downtown Minneapolis. But the big generational difference, as he sees it, is awareness of healthy foods. “Our parents’ generation … uh, well they were raised more on microwave dinners and canned foods,” said Vlahos, a social media manager at Target.
While 56% of respondents aged 30 to 39 said they expect to age better than their parents, this number was well below the levels of confidence expressed by Americans in other age groups.
For example, 79% of people in their 40s believed they would age better and 67% of people in their 50s had that positive outlook.
(www.startribune.com)
