An American born in 2019 will spend a larger share of their lifetime taking prescription drugs than being married or receiving an education, according to new research by Jessica Ho, associate professor of sociology and demography at Penn State. She reported the findings this week (article date: Oct 6) in the journal Demography.
I’m grateful for the meds that are there. Considering both my parents are on a cocktail of drugs treating symptoms of other problems, I just don’t know if they’d have the will to tackle these systemic problems.
That being said, this saddens me because much of this need for meds boils down not to genetics but of societal lifestyle (average stress, sedentary lifestyle, misinformation on healthy diets (e.g., carnivore diet), and generally things within our control.)
It’s my personal goal to fight the old for as long as I can and reasonably do that which is best for my body. So I may spend more time with my kids and do more things with them, and generally just enjoy life longer. So in that sense, I want to prevent the need for taking meds as long as I can and focus on prevention and root cause.
Yep, my parents are also sadly in the school of “just take a pill for it,” which then turns into taking more pills for the side effects of the pills they’re taking, and on and on.
While I’m in the “make healthy lifestyle changes” camp and have, so far in my early 40s, never been on long term medication and hopefully never will. It’s so frustrating watching my parents deteriorate while still paying for so many meds.