‘Grey wave’ sweeps over
There are now reportedly more 65 year olds in Australia than at any point in history, a social commentator claims. Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics confirm the “grey wave” has arrived. Almost 250,000 people were aged 65 years last June – an 18% jump from the previous year.
There are now reportedly more 65 year olds in Australia than at any point in history, a social commentator claims.
Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics confirm the “grey wave” has arrived. Almost 250,000 people were aged 65 years last June – an 18% jump from the previous year, or an extra 37,500 people.
Social commentator, Hugh Mackay, says baby boomers are “more socially engaged, more politically active, more inquisitive” than ever.
“They are more socially engaged; more politically active, more inquisitive … they expect to continue changing the social landscape,” Mr Mackay says.
A baby boomer is a person who was born during the demographic post World War II baby boom between the years 1946 and 1964.
“They also think of themselves as the youngest generation in history – they don’t easily give up the blue denim. There is no sign of them facing their mortality, quite the reverse. They’ll be expecting to live well into their 80s or even their 90s due to better health and nutrition.”
The positive take on baby boomers is in stark contrast to research conducted by the University of Adelaide last year which revealed baby boomers reportedly have the highest obesity rate of any age group in Australia and are fatter and sicker than their parents were.
Baby boomers also have twice the rate of asthma and hearing loss than their parents, triple the rate of diabetes and almost double the cholesterol levels of their parents.
