Getting Boomers Back on Track

The Boomer market is 76 million strong. Due to their sheer numbers, Baby Boomers have been responsible for the grow th of many industries eager to meet their needs throughout their lives. As they age, the large population of Boomers will create a fundamental shif t in the demographic structure of the nation, as the first wave of Boomer retirees enters the health care system.

While Boomers transition from one stage of life to the next, their desire to maintain independence, vitality and relevance will be challenged by their advancing age. Boomers’ mantra to stay “forever young” will then create major opportunities for industries to help them meet these desires.

One major benchmark for industry will be catering to an aging but diverse population, a generation that spans from the birth of Barbie and Woodstock to the Vietnam War. The Boomer generation is known for its resilience and its overarching need to influence government and policy, from dietary supplements to the food industry. The health and wellness surge we’re currently seeing can be attributed, in large part, to the health-committed Boomers. And while their desire to remain healthy is strong, rates of obesity, diabetes and heart disease (to mention a few) among this generation are growing at an alarming rate. This duality creates opportunities for industries that position themselves to help Boomers overcome their health challenges.

Annual research conducted by The Natural Marketing Institute (NMI) among 1,500+ U.S. Boomers in early 2007 provides rich insight into the Boomer lifestyle and identifies many marketplace opportunities.

While nine out of ten Boomers believe the lifestyle choices they make will allow them to live longer and healthier lives than their parents, a growing body of evidence is starting to reveal Boomers may be entering their retirement years actually less healthy than their parents. While it may be too early to tell, many of Boomers’ health conditions may be related to a more sedentary lifestyle, such as working behind a computer and commuting to work, compared to their parents, who may have been engaged in more labor-intensive or activity-oriented jobs. The advent of fast food, technology and television may also play a large part in Boomers’ less-than-healthy lifestyles. Needless to say, lifestyle choices appear to be weighing on their health status as Boomers show high management of a number of health conditions.

Condition Management

Boomers expect to live to an average age of 81 years old, and half want to live to be 100. However, 26 percent feel they are less healthy than they expected to be at their current age, and half of Boomers feel their physical health is worse than just 10 years ago—perhaps not surprising since only 11 percent rate their health as excellent.

The number of health conditions Boomers are managing may be contributing to their overall less-than-healthy status. The top conditions they are currently managing are the need to lose weight (40 percent), high blood pressure (35 percent), joint pain (30 percent) and high cholesterol (29 percent). As high blood pressure and obesity are both serious risk factors for heart disease and stroke—the number one and number three causes of death in the United States, respectively—Boomers appear to be headed towards early “retirement”.

While Boomers’ futures may seem bleaker than anticipated regarding their health, they do make the connection between a healthy lifestyle and an extended lifespan, with over half (57 percent) connecting a healthy lifestyle to the desire to live longer (Figure 2).

Interestingly, half of Boomers were driven to a healthier lifestyle to look better. Playing on this vanity issue may be one way to increase compliance to a healthier mindset, as evidenced by the significant growth of the cosmeceutical industry.

While their understanding is on target, Boomers may require increased assistance in making healthy living an actual lifestyle change. Half are thinking about a healthy lifestyle to lose weight, yet Boomers face many challenges regarding their weight and proper nutrition.

Weight a Minute...

Fewer than one out of five Boomers are very satisfied with their ability to maintain proper weight, and only 1 in 10 is very satisfied with being in shape. Even more concerning is the fact that less than 18 percent are very satisfied with their ability to eat a healthy and nutritious diet (Figure 1).

 It’s no wonder their satisfaction is so low, with a third of Boomers confused about what to eat when it comes to eating healthy, and two-thirds feeling a healthy lifestyle is more difficult as they get older. Many industries— including the media—may unknowingly be at fault for this confusion. As the amount of information available regarding health, nutrition and well-being is being disseminated at such a high rate, it becomes difficult for anybody to assimilate it into their lifestyle. In addition to the sheer volume of content, many times the message is conflicting (e.g., vitamin E is either good or bad), creating further confusion and dissonance between behaviors and attitudes, which is especially true of the diet industry.

Stressed Out

With the amount of information and high-speed, multitask lifestyles, it’s not surprising one of Boomers’ biggest fears of aging is losing mental capacity. While weight, high cholesterol and diabetes are tangible conditions with measurable health effects, a less tangible and more silent condition plaguing Boomers’ health is stress.

More than 40 percent of Boomers readily admit they are so stressed out sometimes that it affects their ability to think. In fact, Boomers who are experiencing memory and concentration problems feel anxiety could be the cause. Further, Boomers suffering from lack of energy feel it is caused by their levels of stress and anxiety. Industries related to stress relief, from the vacation industry to time organizers, yoga and aromatherapy are all primed to capture this generation, which may be victim to the lifestyle they have desired and the pace they have set. And interest is great, as 79 percent of Boomers feel that relieving their stress would increase the quality of their life.

While Boomers’ future may been strewn with positives as well as negatives, opportunities exist for industries that provide products and services that meet the array of Boomers’ needs and wants. This can help put Boomers back on the track towards health, vitality, independence and relevance. 

Steve French is managing partner at the Natural Marketing Institute (NMI), a strategic consulting, market research and business development firm specializing in the health, wellness and sustainability marketplace. For more information on NMI’s services or proprietary research tools, contact Steve French at [email protected] or visit www.NMIsolutions.com.