Survey says Gen X lacks healthy habits

Being middle-aged, sandwiched between the muchlauded millennials and the much-attacked baby boomers, is far from an ideal place on the demographic scale.

Now a new report says that Generation Xers, those between the ages of 36 and 51, don’t do enough to keep healthy, even as they claim they want to live to a ripe old age. According to a survey: • One in three don’t go to the doctor out of fear of finding something wrong.

• Slightly more than half, 55 percent, of Gen Xers have had an annual physical exam in the past five years. That’s compared to 72 percent of boomers.

• Two out of three Gen Xers admit they could do more about exercising regularly (67 percent), eating well (66 percent), maintaining a healthy weight (63 percent) and managing stress (66 percent).

• Only 40 percent of Gen Xers — versus 55 percent of Boomers — are getting the recommended screening tests for timely disease detection. This despite the fact that Gen Xers believe lifestyle choices play an equal (66 percent) or greater (20 percent) role than genetics in their health.

These figures are of particular interest at a time when the life expectancy for Americans has declined for the first time in 20 years. What’s more, almost half of adults suffer from at least one chronic health condition, some of which could be prevented or better controlled through lifestyle changes. These include hypertension, heart disease and diabetes.