--- title: Baby Boomer Health: Aging Cohort Faces New Challenges description: Despite increasing life expectancy, the aging cohort is less healthy than the previous generation canonical: https://time.com/3852306/baby-boomer-health-charts/ author: David Johnson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-05-11T20:21:56.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:04:04.820Z article:section: Health og:title: These Charts Show the Baby Boomers' Coming Health Crisis og:description: The aging cohort is less healthy than the previous generation og:url: https://time.com/3852306/baby-boomer-health-charts/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: These Charts Show the Baby Boomers' Coming Health Crisis twitter:description: The aging cohort is less healthy than the previous generation twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # These Charts Show the Baby Boomers' Coming Health Crisis by [David Johnson](https://time.com/author/dave-johnson/) ## David Johnson May 11, 2015 8:21 PM UTC by [David Johnson](https://time.com/author/dave-johnson/) ## David Johnson May 11, 2015 8:21 PM UTC American Baby Boomers are more stressed, less healthy and have slightly less health care coverage than people in the same age group did a decade ago, according to data from [a new report](http://time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/hus14.pdf#specialfeature) released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Exacerbating the potential for a crisis, those aged 55 to 64—the core of the Boomers—are living longer than their predecessors did 10 years ago. The charts below show that though Boomers are living longer, but aren’t necessarily living healthier lives. For every 100,000 adults aged 55-64, there were 77 fewer deaths than the same age group 10 years ago. That’s an 8% decrease—despite increases in chronic conditions and stress. While heart disease and cancer remain the two leading causes of death, they both claimed far fewer lives among adults aged 55-64 than 10 years ago. Chronic restrictive lung disease (CRLD) and diabetes saw smaller declines. Of the top five causes of death for Boomers, unintentional injury was the only to rise since 2003. The seeming paradox of a decrease in the number of deaths and the worsening of health is explained in part by Americans’ increased use of prescription drugs. Adults aged 55-64 are taking more drugs than ever before, with a 29% spike in the use of anti-diabetic pills and a 54% increase in cholesterol-lowering drugs. The trend toward prolonged treatment of chronic conditions signals how health-care workers and policymakers must prepare, in the coming years, for the largest-ever cohort to enroll in Medicare over the next ten years. **Methodology** Data is from the [CDC special feature on adults aged 55-64](http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/hus/special.htm), of the 2014 Health Report. _Read next:_ [_6 Foods That Can Make You Happier_](http://time.com/3848925/foods-happiness/?iid=time%5Freadnext) ### See the 10 Healthiest Cities to Live in America  Honolulu, Hawaii Best Place for Lifelong Health The heavenly climate helps, but the key to well-being here also includes enviable health care and a rich cultural tradition of looking out for one another. Colin Anderson—Blend Images/Corbis  San Francisco Bay Area, Calif. Best Place for Eating Right. The "farm to table" movement began here. The region's bounty of produce and year-round growing season make eating healthy—and local—a natural. Getty Images  Burlington, Vt. Best Place for Raising Healthy Kids This New England city offers great schools, excellent pediatric care, loads of culture and limitless options for healthy outdoor fun all year long. Matt Hogan/www.mphoganphoto.com  Silicon Valley, Calif. Best Place for Workplace Wellness With treadmill desks, meetings on bikes, time off for creativity, and gobs of organic food, tech titans are reinventing how to stay healthy on the job. Jim Wilson—The New York Times/Redux  Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn. Best Place for Aging Well Yes, it can be cold. But with a plethora of stimulating activities and a robust web of support, the Twin Cities prove that growing old doesn't mean slowing down. Getty Images  Denver and Boulder, Colo. Best Place for Keeping Fit The urge to get outside and get moving is contagious in these Rocky Mountain cities, where physical challenge is built into the landscape. Celin Serbo—Aurora Photos/Corbis  Plano, Texas Best Place for Staying Safe Once a rural outpost, this booming, diverse city has kept its small-town vibe, thanks in part to a police force and community that knows how to work together. Misty Keasler—Redux for TIME  Portland, Ore. Best Place for a Healthy Environment Small, walkable neighborhoods, 300 miles of bike paths, and urban policies that foster active living and sustainability make for one clean, green city. Getty Images  Boston, Mass. Best Place for Health Care This history-rich city is home to some of the nation's most advanced medical institutions and policies that help ensure that quality care is available to all. K.C. Cohen—Courtesy of Boston Children's Hospital  Provo and Orem, Utah Best Place for Spiritual Well-Being A stunning Rocky Mountain backdrop and a tight-knit population that lives its faith contribute not only to this region's serenity but also to lower rates of disease. Getty Images [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/autoplay/?xid=spl-fullbrief-article) Baby Boomer Health: Aging Cohort Faces New Challenges ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3852306/baby-boomer-health-charts/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3852306/baby-boomer-health-charts/"},"headline":"These Charts Show the Baby Boomers' Coming Health Crisis","datePublished":"2015-05-11T20:21:56.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:04:04.820Z","description":"Despite increasing life expectancy, the aging cohort is less healthy than the previous generation","url":"https://time.com/3852306/baby-boomer-health-charts/","keywords":["Death","health","Baby Boomers","interactive studio"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"David Johnson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/dave-johnson/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3852306/baby-boomer-health-charts/","name":"These Charts Show the Baby Boomers' Coming Health Crisis"}}]}] ```