Review: "Baby Boomers and Their Parents"

Surprising Findings about Their Lifestyles, Mindsets and Well-Being"

There are already many good books about Baby Boomers but not so many that also cover the older generation comprised of the parents of Baby Boomers. Authors George Moschis and Anil Marthur explain that to understand Boomers you need to also understand the senior generation. It is important to understand seniors both because it illustrates those Boomer characteristics that are unique to Boomers plus, on the whole, Boomers will spend more time taking care of their parents than they did raising their children. Furthermore, while different, seniors still give us the best indication about how behavior conducted earlier in life impacts the quality of life in our later years. By way of analogy, the best way to see the impact of being a life-long smoker is to look at life-long smokers late in their lives.

"Baby Boomers and Their Parents" is also unique in the level of detail and data that the authors have amassed and share in the book. The authors are PhDs so we shouldn't be surprised that they take such effort to justify their opinions with supporting data. Their disciplined approach and academic structure end up leading them to some surprising findings. Among the more interesting ones:

Despite being more health conscious, Baby Boomers are in worse shape today than previous generations were at that age.

The most successful people are often the least healthy. They tend to experience more health problems earlier in life and use a larger number of prescription drugs than their less successful counterparts. That said, people who have higher self-esteem are healthier. Also, self-esteem helps protect against stress. People with high self-esteem are four times less likely to experience depression on a long-term basis.

For Baby Boomers back problems are the most frequently mentioned health condition. For seniors it's arthritis.

Health problems tend to appear in a sequential and therefore predictive way. If one has experienced one specific health problem you are at a higher risk of experiencing other types of disease.

Baby Boomers exercise and diet primarily because they want to look good and appear youthful, whereas their parents do it in order to feel good and stay healthy.

Good health is a major source of happiness in later life.

Everyone wants to travel but relatively few can afford it.

If you are looking for a well-researched book on Baby Boomers that helps you understand middle age life (and beyond) and the factors that affect quality of life and longevity then "Baby Boomer and Their Parents" would be a good choice.

Amazon link: Baby Boomers and Their Parents

Other recommended books on Baby Boomers and middle age:

"Marketing to Leading-Edge Baby Boomers" by Brent Green
"Turning Silver into Gold" by Mary Furlong
"Advertising to Baby Boomers" by Chuck Nyren