Golden Living

Adults who stay well-hydrated appear to be healthier, develop fewer chronic conditions such as heart and lung disease, and live longer than those who may not get sufficient fluids, according to a National Institutes of Health study released this month.

You can do simple things around the interior of your home to lower your risk of falls. First, do basic decluttering as noted in our previous column on this topic. Then, move on to specific room-by-room issues, as suggested by the National Institute on Aging. First, your floors, stairs, and hallways:

Whether you’re an older adult or somebody who’s caring for an older family member, most of us want to live out our lives in our own homes, for as long as it’s safe to do so. The key is to make the “safe to do so” part last, and we can start toward that goal by adapting the home with an eye on safety.

Eating disorders like anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating and similar disorders are often assumed to be issues for much younger people, but they can occur at any age. In later life, addressing the issue can be far more complex, with less margin for error.

The Office for the Aging’s (OFA) fall newsletter THRIVE60+ is being mailed to the thousands of local households on the OFA mailing list. It’s also available at libraries throughout Dutchess County, online at www.dutchessny.gov/aging and in the front lobby at OFA headquarters at 114 Delafield St.

The benefits of strength training aren’t just for athletes and weight lifters, people twice your size and one-third your age. Strength training is a key part of successful aging, too.

There are five key goals of strength training for older adults:

When older adults take multiple medications for various conditions, it’s easy for medicine cabinets to become cluttered with unused and expired prescriptions and other medications. That can be dangerous if the medications fall into the wrong hands or are disposed of improperly.

Older adults living on fixed incomes have been disproportionately burdened by the recent effects of inflation. This year’s Social Security and Supplemental Security Income cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) of 5.9% was the biggest in 40 years, but it only blunted inflation’s effects.