ruler! Let’s look at cerebrovascular disease statistics. The number of deaths from cerebrovascular disease per 100,000 people was 7.5 in their 40s and 17.7 in their 50s. Heart disease, including myocardial infarction, also increases rapidly from the age of 50. In other words, if you don’t start taking care of your health in your 40s, you can do ‘big things’ in your 50s.
Mr. Kim Hae-yang, an office worker in his 40s, often suffers from headaches these days. He often takes two or three pain relievers and doesn’t work. He went to the hospital just in case, and he was told, ‘If you don’t quit smoking and alcohol, you can get cerebrovascular disease’ and ‘If you don’t manage it now, you can really get in trouble when you’re in your 50s’. What should Mr. Health do now?
The representative diseases that threaten the health of those in their 40s who are heading to their peak as office workers are cancer-suicide-liver disease-heart disease-cerebrovascular disease (Statistics results of the cause of death by Statistics Korea, 2020). The fact that suicide, which gives up one’s life, ranks second in the cause of death, surpassing other diseases, is evidence of the importance of mental health management toward middle age.
The 40s is the time when health care debts that have been neglected until now begin to be claimed. Dangerous diseases such as cancer, myocardial infarction, and stroke, which can take lives if not done, increase starting from the age of 40. At this time, muscle strength begins to weaken, and in severe cases, some people complain of frozen shoulder and back pain. Even if there are no special abnormalities during the health check-up, many people experience difficulties in their physical condition, such as malaise, insomnia, and headaches.
In the case of women, side effects appear as female hormones decrease as they approach the age of 50 and beyond. Some people experience menopausal symptoms such as sweating, hot flushes, and depression. No one can avoid aging like this.
However, it is possible to slow the aging process according to each person’s efforts. It is especially important to take care of your health in your 40s. If you do not properly manage your health in your 40s, there is a high chance that you will have problems in your 50s.
By the age of 50, both men and women are at increased risk of various cancers, such as liver, esophageal, stomach, and lung cancers. The risk of lung cancer is 4 times higher than that of people in their 40s, and esophageal cancer is 5.5 times higher. For women in their 50s, the risk of colorectal and uterine cancer is more than twice that of those in their 40s. Cerebrovascular disease should also be taken care of from the age of 40.
According to statistics, the number of deaths from cerebrovascular disease per 100,000 people is more than double the number of people in their 50s, 17.7, compared to 7.5 in their 40s. This means that people who have neglected smoking, drinking, and controlling their weight and blood pressure should change their habits from the age of 40.
Heart disease, including myocardial infarction, also increases rapidly from the age of 50. Because the death rate from this is more than doubled compared to those in their 40s, it is better to start managing them from the age of 40, as with cerebrovascular disease.
Although it is not an immediate life-threatening factor, a decrease in muscle strength is also a bad factor that worsens the quality of life. Even if you don’t feel a decrease in muscle strength until you’re in your 40s, the number of people who feel it increases dramatically when you enter your 50s. However, it is too late to start exercising from the age of 50. It is good to build muscle through moderate exercise starting in your 40s, when you do not feel muscle strength decline yet.
Occasionally, you can see an old man in his 80s boasting his middle-aged physique on TV, which is the result of decades of efforts to build muscle with weights and dumbbells. In order to slow aging, not only aerobic exercise such as running or walking, but also muscle exercise that gives moderate tension with a heavy object must be performed.
Kim Gook-jin, editor at The Scoop
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