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Los Hispanos Ancianos: Un Mosaico Cultural
Los Hispanos forman parte de un mosaico cultural que, en muchos aspectos, es tan variado como el resto de la población Americana. El Hispano anciano, aunque comparte un idioma común, difiere el uno del otro en cuanto a su historia, religión, estado económico, nivel educativo, visión política y un sin número de otras características.
Casi dos tercios de los Hispanos en este país son originarios de México o de áreas de los Estados Unidos que una vez pertenecieron a México. El segundo grupo más grande de Hispanos-- 11 por ciento -- viene de Puerto Rico, mientras que el 7 por ciento viene de Cuba. El resto -- muchos de los cuales son inmigrantes más recientes -- vienen de Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, Perú, Bolivia, Colombia, Venezuela y otras naciones de Centro y Sud América.
A través de los años, la población de Hispanos Ancianos no solamente ha aumentado en número, sino que se ha convertido en una población racialmente diversa debido a la entrada de personas de diferentes países latinoamericanos. Comparados a otros Americanos, sin embargo, un pequeño porcentaje de Hispanos--6 por ciento en 1990, o 1.2 millónes--son ancianos. No obstante, son el grupo de crecimiento más rápido de la población de 65 años para arriba. Se proyecta que la población Hispana de ancianos aumentará a casi el doble del porcentaje del total de la población de ancianos, a 11.7 por ciento, o 7.9 millónes, para el año 2050.
Debido a tradiciones fuertes de lazos familiares extendidos y de la preocupación del uno por el otro, el Hispano anciano tiene menos probabilidades de residir en un asilo que los ancianos Americanos blancos o africanos. También tienen más probabilidades de vivir con otros miembros de la familia. De hecho, más del 75 por ciento vive con sus familias, las cuales tienden a ser multigeneracionales. La habilidad del Hispano anciano de localizar y tener acceso a los servicios y asistencia que necesita está generalmente agravado por el conocimiento limitado del idioma Español por parte de los proveedores de servicios.
Proyecto Aliento, un projecto en demostración, financiado, en parte, bajo el Título IV del Acta de Americanos Ancianos, fué diseñado para hacer más accesible la red de ancianos a los ancianos Hispanos y a sus familias y agrandar la base de agencias y grupos involucrados. El proyecto, llevado a cabo por la Asociación Nacional del Hispano Anciano, desarrolló una guía de recursos bilingüe para entrenamiento de voluntarios con base en las iglesias y un audiovisual de 10 minutos sobre cuidado en la comunidad y a domicilio. Copias de estos materiales están disponibles en esta Asociación cuya dirección aparece debajo.
Asociacion Nacional Pro Personas Mayores
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3325 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90010
La información contenida en este artículo se basa, en parte, en información proveniente de la Oficina de Censo de los Estados Unidos, y en la publicación Meeting the Needs of Hispanic Elderly por el Consejo Nacional de La Raza Ancianos Network Project, financiado, en parte, bajo el Título IV del Acta de Americanos Ancianos, concesión otorgada por la Administración de la Ancianidad.
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Dieters Lose More When Stressed Less
Don't even think about dieting if you're anxious, depressed or under emotional stress, advises Baylor University psychologist, Dr. John Foreyt in the February issue of New Choices magazine. "If you are worried about something else, you simply won't succeed. Then you feel worse."
Foreyt recommends that diets be started when you are feeling emotionally steady and understand why you want to change this aspect of your life. He recommends the following guidelines.
- Think "healthy", not "skinny"
When it comes to changing your eating habits, "quality of life is what you should be thinking about, not body weight.
- Weight loss must be gradual
A ten percent drop in body weight over six months is a reasonable goal for most people. If you lose more than that, your body resists. And nature always wins.
- Follow the 100/100 rule
Losing weight is easy if you combine small changes in eating patterns with moderate exercise. A handy rule of thumb is to eat 100 fewer calories a day and burning 100 more calories a day. A twenty minute walk a day will take off half a pound a week, or 25 pounds a year.
- Allow yourself to indulge now and then
"All-or-nothing" thinking can quickly derail any new pattern of behavior because people tend to interpret backsliding as failure. Allow yourself to break the rules every once in a great while.
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Fitness Rite Best Option Left for Longer Life
Older people not only can slow down aging by maintaining regular physical activity but also prevent chronic conditions, say researchers at the University of Texas (UT). Walking, weight lifting, and flexibility training can help seniors avoid disabilities normally associated with aging and even reverse the aging process itself, according to the UT study reported by the Center for Advancement of Health. Some decline in physical ability is an inevitable result of normal aging, but inactivity can hasten this decline and result in all-too-rapid rates of muscle atrophy, decreased endurance, and loss of flexibility and balance, according the study's lead investigator, Kyriakos S. Markides, PhD, and his colleagues at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.
Reporting in the winter issue of Behavioral Medicine, the researchers cite numerous studies that demonstrate the benefits of exercise on the aging process.
- Benefits of Walking
A walking program for people in their 70s that reversed 22 years of declining lung capacity in 22 weeks. The capacity of lungs to absorb oxygen normally declines an average of 1 percent a year after age 40; those in their 70s recaptured the lung capacity they'd had in their 50s.
- Benefits of Leg Exercise
A 12-week weight resistance program that more than doubled the leg muscle strength of some participating women 64 years and older.
- Benefits of Strength Training
A 12-month resistance training program for both men and women that increased their muscle strength by 30 to 100 percent in the first three months, after which point they reached a plateau and did not continue improving.
- Benefits of Frequent Exercise
A study in which people who exercised by walking several days a week decreased their risk of disability and improved their ability to walk distances, climb stairs, stoop, crouch, kneel, and carry objects. The risk of disability decreased by one-third for whites and two-thirds for African-Americans.
A sedentary lifestyle is the most prevalent modifiable risk factor for coronary artery disease, far exceeding hypertension, smoking and high cholesterol. In one study, 184 adults aged 60 and older were randomized into three groups: long-term exercise, short-term exercise, and a control group. At the end of two years, both exercise groups showed a decreased rate of new cardiovascular diagnoses compared to the controls.
The researchers report that patients who already have coronary artery disease can reduce their risk of death from a cardiac event by 20 to 25 percent if they exercise, and even lower the severity of some risk factors for heart attacks, such as hypertension, obesity, high cholesterol and diabetes.
A sedentary lifestyle also increases the risk for hip fractures, they say. In one study, women who spent less than four hours a day on their feet had nearly twice the risk of hip fractures as their more active counterparts.
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Social Security Makes Every Race a Winner
Social Security benefits help narrow the gap in retirement wealth between minority and non-minority households, according to a study by the International Longevity Center (ILC). Including the Social Security benefits helps the total wealth of the median Black household more than double from $86,000 to $189,000. The total wealth of the Hispanic household nearly triples from $53,000 to $158,000. In contrast, in the median White household, retirement wealth increases only slightly more than one-and-a-half times when Social Security benefits are included.
Net worth at retirement is typically measured by adding financial assets, such as savings accounts, stocks, bonds, and home equity. Expected Social Security and employer pensions are usually not included in the calculation, at least until now. The ILC study includes all four sources of retirement wealth. Results from this new method of calculation improve the outlook for minorities, but a great disparity still exists in the wealth they will have available at retirement.
During their working life, minorities earn less than Whites. Black workers make 76% and Hispanic workers make 57% of White workers' annual earnings. Disparities in wealth at retirement are even more dramatic. The Black median household will have only 48%, and the Hispanic median household will have only 40%, of the wealth of the median White household at retirement.
The ILC study's author, Marjorie Honig, notes "These findings are very timely and have major implications for the nation's Social Security debate. Minorities are counting on Social Security for the biggest portion of their retirement wealth. Any tinkering with this program that fails to produce the expected amount of income will have the most adverse effect on Black and Hispanic households.
Social Security benefits account for the bulk of anticipated retirement wealth for 70% of American households. Impoverished households, regardless of race or ethnicity, will be the most dependent on Social Security benefits in retirement. In fact, in the poorest households, Social Security will account for nearly two-thirds of total retirement wealth. While dependency on Social Security lessens as retirement wealth increases, it is expected to be the major source of retirement wealth for more than two-thirds of American retirees.
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Ready, Aim, Retire ... oops ! Back to Work?
Ready, Aim, Retire ... oops ! You worked, you retired, and now you gotta go back to work in order to make ends meet. If that's what your retirement plan sounds like, then get busy. There's still time to get a lock on your retirement security. You may have some catching up to do, but it's never too late. Angela Wethor, manager of Financial Planning at the Lutheran Brotherhood would like to help retirees and soon-to-be retirees decide if they want or need to work during retirement. Wethor calls this help "assessing your retirement readiness", and answering the questions below will help you make the right decision.
- Will your savings, social security, and pension be enough?
A good rule of thumb is that you'll need at least two-thirds of your annual pre-retirement income for each year of retirement.
- Will working affect your social security benefits?
If you're age 62-64, you receive one less dollar in social security benefits for every two dollars you earn over $9,600 annually. Between the ages of 65 and 69, you receive one less dollar for every three dollars you earn over $15,500. After age 70, you won't lose any social security benefits due to earned income.
- Will your employment income reduce your social security benefits?
If your base income (adjusted gross income, any tax-exempt interest you receive and half of your social security benefits) is between $32,000 and $44,000 for couples and $25,000 and $34,000 for singles, 50% of your social security benefits will be taxed. If your income exceeds $44,000 for couples and $34,000 for singles, you will pay taxes on 85% of your benefits. Consult a tax advisor about your personal situation.
- Have your arranged for long term care?
Almost half of people age 65 and older will enter a nursing home at some time during their lives. Long term care insurance can help pay for the expense of nursing home care or assisted living. If you decide to purchase long term care insurance, account for the premium payments in your retirement budget.
- Do you have a plan to eliminate your debt and reduce your expenses?
Since retirement income is typically less than pre-retirement income, cutting expenses will be important. Eliminating debt, such as mortgage payments and credit card payments, is one way to reduce living expenses.
- Is there room in your retirement budget to continue saving?
To account for increased life expectancy and cost of living, it's a good idea to save between five and ten percent of your income during the early retirement years.
Just in case you missed it, here's the point. Look ... or rather, plan ... before you leap. Get ready before you retire. And start getting ready now.
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