Research
The Book
Timeless Women Speak: Feeling Youthful at Any Age has been called a portable support group, a lifeline for women, an intimate journal.
What Women Say About Growing Older
Women worry about getting older from the time they are teenagers, but they mostly worry in secret and alone. The WomenSpeak Project lets women speak honestly and freely about their aging concerns and find support to help them overcome their fears.
Diet vs. Exercise
Interestingly, worries about getting older do not necessarily prompt women to do the things most likely to improve their health. Those who worried about getting older were significantly more likely to diet but not more likely than non-worriers to exercise regularly. This was also true of women who were worried about their ability to care for themselves and their problems 20 years hence.
About half of the participants said they exercised regularly, generally three or four times a week. Those who perceived aging as occurring earlier were more likely to exercise, while those who perceived it to occur later were more likely to diet.
Weight Management
Only 6% of women mentioned their weight as a health concern, although more than half of the women said they monitor eating habits to control their weight and 36% of women said they diet.
Women with health concerns were significantly less likely to monitor their eating habits than women who reported excellent health. Only 3% of 1000 participants said they used exercise to manage their weight.
For women’s long-term success at aging, it is especially troublesome that those who do worry about aging adopt the behavior of dieting rather than exercise. This might indicate these women regard their weight as an appearance issue rather than a health issue. Whatever the reason, this is an unbalanced strategy because both diet and exercise are essential for long-term health. In fact, a National Institute on Aging study showed that exercise conferred more health benefits than a dietary approach did.
