June 21, 2004

By: Nada Boyesan
Website: http://www.1st-in-wellness.com

Americans are obsessed with vanity when it comes to aging

A study released today debunks the common perception that Americans are obsessed with vanity when it comes to aging. The study, commissioned by emerging nutraceutical company, Juvenon, Inc., shows that for two out of three Americans, the leading age-related worry is deteriorating physical condition.

One in two Americans is concerned with loss of mental sharpness. Only 8 percent place gray hair at the top of their concerns about aging, and 4 percent place wrinkles at the top of their concerns.

As Americans are bombarded with marketing images that promote maintaining a youthful image, they spend billions of dollars a year on cosmetic anti-aging products, said Dr. Ben Treadwell, Scientific Adviser to Juvenon. In spite of the numbers of people who subscribe to the thought that aging can be confronted from the outside-in, it’s comforting to know that an overwhelming majority of the respondents surveyed are more concerned with the aging process from the inside out.

Based on Juvenon’s survey findings, women generally think more about aging than men. One of the reasons women tend to be more preoccupied with the effects of aging than men could be that a larger percentage of women feel less energetic now than they did five years ago in comparison to men. Additionally, this finding – that women experience energy loss more so than men – applies across all age groups.

Three in Four Americans Believe In The Value of Preventive Care . . .

Americans overall seem to agree that taking preventive measures now can ensure good physical and mental health, contributing to longer and healthier lives. Nationwide, 74 percent of respondents feel that much of what affects their physical and mental health depends on what they do to take care of themselves. Regionally, 80 percent of survey respondents in the Northeast are more likely to subscribe to this line of thinking as compared to only 71 percent of respondents residing in Western states.

Although Americans understand the value of engaging in a healthy lifestyle, only 54 percent of the population actively involve themselves in altering their behaviors to ensure they will have good physical and mental health later in life. Alternatively, this means that the other 46 percent of Americans do not take steps towards a healthy lifestyle. In addition to this startling figure, 20 percent of the population feels that there is nothing that they can do to prevent deteriorating health conditions and other conditions associated with the aging process because they think it’s all predetermined.

But Only a Slim Majority Take Active Steps To Ensure Good Health in Later Life

Researchers at Juvenon commissioned a study to delve deeper into Americans’ thoughts and perceptions around the aging process after realizing that insufficient data around the topic existed. The study was designed to gauge respondents’ perceptions specifically with regard to energy levels as people age, attitudes toward the results of aging and lifestyle measures that can be taken to stave off aging.

About The Author:

Nada Boyesan is a successful author and regular contributor to http://www.1st-in-wellness.com.  Obtaining and keeping good health through healthy living, natural healing, great mental health and healthy finances.