INTRODUCTION
 
What kind of relationship do you have with your body? This is an important question to ask ourselves at any time of our life, but especially as we transition to retirement. Are you kind and respectful toward your body because it is the only one that you have?  Or, do you disregard signs and symptoms that there is something wrong. The question we all need to ask ourselves is: Have we taken good care of our bodies? Those who enter the retirement stage of life with good health practices are found to have a more successful retirement than those who have not developed and maintained positive health practices.

 

HISTORICAL PERSECTIVE
 
Our parent's generation and those who came before them often retired because they were not physically able to continue to work. To make things even worse, many retired to a life of limited intellectual and physical activity. Many believed that with a limited life expectancy they wanted to concentrate on relaxing and having fun. In previous generations, there was no definition of what a well balanced retirement meant long term in the health and wellness arena and there was little information about health practices. Staying physically fit for life has only been emphasized since the mid 1960's when most baby boomers were entering high school. Prior to that time, many assumed that you stopped working, grew old, became sick and then died
 
OUR BODY, PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE  
 
Years ago, in the mid 1960's, Jim Fixx brought running into the mainstream of the physical fitness movement. He made people aware of the importance of exercising. I was a part of the running movement. Our running group ran inside because it wasn't stylish to run at all. As time went on, it made better sense to run outside, even in inclement weather. The concept of running and walking was so novel that friends and neighbors often slowed down in their cars to offer me a ride. Many families, during that era, did not know nor were they encouraged to exercise, eat a healthy diet and get frequent medical check ups. Being Italian, I enjoyed the cultural ritual of large meals with many food choices and sitting around the table after a meal to relax and talk. I still enjoy parts of that ritual. However, you can not live that lifestyle for long without considering the consequences. For me personally, running gave me a heightened awareness of the benefits of exercise and health care, including nutrition, life in moderation and good medical care.

In 1987, after running for over 20 years, I realized that the frequency and duration of my running was causing physical problems that were interfering with the quality of my life. As a result, I transitioned to walking while adding weight baring exercises. This has been my routine for a long time, with biking and swimming periodically.
It is true that how we have treated our bodies in the past and treat them now will determine, for the most part, how our bodies will treat us in the future. That pattern of behavior will follow us into our later years as we retire into a new and exciting stage of life. However, there are some diseases that occur through genetics but it is possible to minimize their consequences and learn how to live with these challenges.
 
POSITIVE HEALTH PRACTICES IN RETIREMENT
 
It is not too late, at any stage in life, to begin to take better care of your body. We can choose to start today and prevent serious health problems that will follow us into retirement or we can choose not to. It is up to us. It is important to acknowledge that our bodies do change with age. However, we can slow that process down with positive health care and healthy nutrition. Those practices include and are not limited to: