Why do "Babyboomers" appear to be sicker?

I don't qualify as a Baby Boomer; too old for that, close to 83.

There is hardly anything about the world that is the same as when I was growing up. It was cleaner, the air was purer, and we ingested fewer chemicals. The oranges and tomatoes I ate had ripened naturally, not forced to be attractive by gassing them. Home freezers were not at all common, so we pretty much ate fresh meat, poultry, and fish.
I don't remember anything plastic in the 40s and 50s...if it wasn't china or ceramic or even Melmac; it was paper. None of our cleaning agents were as powerful; elbow grease meant the most. I love the modern convenience of the microwave but think how often items are heated in plastic containers. All the water available was good clean water. Did you ever think you would pay money for water in a plastic bottle? What is in a Monster drink?
The worst and most shocking thing in high school was drinking a beer~ not hard liquor mixed with marijuana (I know it has medicinal benefits) maybe mixed with a few mushrooms. I'd only read about cocaine in my social studies book yet I lived its horror with one of my sons who is 62 and now clean.
In a nutshell....fresh, clean, healthy air and ecosystem are history....and it can't be helping. Life was simpler then. No Visa, so you only purchased what you could afford. Much less tension...families compromised and managed with one car. The cost of living and wages earned have the widest gap ever. I feel bad for the Boomers and wish I could say it isn't getting worse.🥲💞

And we are old now😎

Hi Grammy82!
Everything you say is so true! I'm 77 and I am a Baby Boomer. Luckily, a healthy one. Reading what you wrote sounded like I was reading about my own life growing up in the 50's and 60's. Things were cleaner and fresher. Unfortunately, food today tastes nothing like it used to. I got very excited when some salmon I purchased recently actually tasted like salmon from the Pacific Ocean did in the 1950's! But it comes all the way from the Faroe Island which is near Iceland! I'm not sure I even knew where Iceland was in the 1950's! I don't like the Microwave for cooking! It's good for heating water for tea and that's about it. My husband and I cook everything from scratch the way my mother did.

You are so right about having one car. My father drove the car to work in the 1950's and Mom and I stayed home all day and baked cookies from scratch in the summer!

As you stated, water was all clean back then. We had a well dug in the back yard and the water tasted so good! Plus all meat tasted so good then, whether it was the best cut or the cheapest. Now the only good meat I've found is from Allen Brothers and it is very expensive!

All we can do now is pray for the future! At least we still have God but not as many people like him today, as they did back then either.
PML

I was born in late 1964, not sure if I'm a boomer.

I won't repeat the excellent, spot-on comments others have made.

But everything we counted on has changed. I am quite convinced all people (who are NOT extremists) are worried by the same thing: the world is not what it was a few decades ago.

Today people, jobs, music, places, cars, homes, forests, food - everything is just something to be sold/ bought. And if it's no good, throw it on the scrap-heap. And yes, that includes people.

But, at the same time, non-rich people are feeling increasingly insecure financially.

Somebody who works with money once told me, that even some billionaires are worried, they never wanted a world with such financial inequality.

I grew up secular, but I believe in God because without Him, nothing in this world has intrinsic worth today. And, again, that includes people.

5G????????????

Actually I disagree. People will get sick more as they get older, that is a given.
But if you look at Boomers back when they were some age group, such as 40 to 50 for example, and compare them to the current crop that are 40 to 50 I think the current crop gets sick more often and has more allergies and more stress disorders and just about anything you can think of.
The same when you compare them in some other age range to other groups in that same age range.
There is data at CDC that shows this is true for a few things like eczema and food allergies but I have not seen real data for many other aspects of "sick". Just my opinion that the Boomers were overall healthier than the younger groups and I bet that continues, especially when you consider mental health. The world is getting sicker.

All life cycles have a beginning, middle and end. In the beginning we, just like the animals, plants, stars and machines, are created. In the middle we all function. To function successfully requires proper care, feeding, maintenance. There can be a thriving. That is followed by the inevitable aging. Aging of anything includes eventual physical and natural degenerating. Plants wilt, stars dim, machines corrode, people have aches and pains. Meanwhile modern medicines, sciences, and conveniences have enabled us to lengthen our lives. These changes have been both positive and negative. We know so much more today about our physical world than those who preceded us. The longer we live the more memories we have. It is natural to remember and reminisce, and it can also be very gratifying to enjoy today. It is very easy to live in the past, plan for the future and exist in the present. I like to listen to the song with the words "These are the good old days". Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift. That's why they call it the present.

Of course, you didn't know where Iceland was!!! I know I never heard of Russia. Our geography(a thing of the past) teacher taught us about the US.

It is a Brave New World we are in now @pml . I smiled when you said 'not too many like God'.....I don't imagine he is too pleased with what humans have done to earth.💞

@lagrange5 What wise and insightful words. I'm thankful for the memories and see something good in every day. Thanks!💞

@nonobaddog Are you an Italian grandfather or do you have a dog you can't get to mind?😉😉
I agree with a great deal of what you said, especially when it comes to mental health. I think it would be great to see more 'action' on the ground for mental health, but I can remember championing that cause in the late 90s.
It is very true that age and illness have been partners for a long, long time....and we have more cures available. Thanks for adding those wise thoughts.💞