Baby boomers, obesity, and social change

SummaryBaby boomers are currently in mid-life and over the next several decades they will swell the ranks of those aged 65 and over. Their entry into this age group will have a significant impact in a number of areas but particularly in relation to the type and extent of health services required. Obesity is a major health issue for this cohort as its members are significantly over-represented in both the overweight and obese categories compared to the rest of the population. In addition, they are significantly more likely to have multiple risk factors. This review considers how alterations to lifestyle, initiated by the rapid social changes of the last half century, might have contributed to obesity within this cohort. In providing this broad overview it focuses on how increased affluence and changes to everyday institutions have affected the cultures around food consumption. This includes a consideration of both the internal and external ways in which eating environments are now constructed. This review suggests that further research is needed to identify the factors which facilitate or constrain healthy ageing in the baby boom cohort. Research along these lines also needs to consider both macro- and micro-level changes to the social context within which these factors arise. This is essential as the high levels of obesity in this cohort may reflect both an individual and a structural lag in adapting lifestyles and policies to meet the needs of this very different social environment.