Religious Attendance, Healthy Lifestyles, and Perceived Health: A Comparison of Baby Boomers with the Silent Generation.

Baby boomers are aging, and their health is an important concern. Research has suggested that (1) aging boomers are more vulnerable to mental and physical health problems than their parents' generation; (2) adoption of healthy lifestyles is critically important for the health of the aging population; and (3) religious attendance, often found to be associated with health-related outcomes, is lower among aging boomers than their parents' generation. In this research, we use a large national dataset to examine (1) whether the baby boom generation lags behind their parents' generation in adoption of healthy lifestyles and perceived health; and (2) if it does, whether the lag might possibly be attributed to lower religious attendance. We analyzed data collected by University of Michigan's Health and Retirement Study from the silent generation in 1994 and from the baby boom generation in 2010 when both generation cohorts were at about the same age (age 49-64 years). The results indicated that (1) the baby boom generation lagged behind the silent generation in adoption of three healthy lifestyles (not smoking, not drinking excessively, and not being overweight or obese) and in perceived health; (2) the lag may be partially attributed to lower religious attendance in the baby boom generation. We also discuss implications for the health of the baby boom generation and for promoting healthy lifestyles and health to the baby boom generation.