The Baby Boomers, the generation born between 1946 and 1964 number 77 million and are all starting to climb into their sixties. While there have been a number of health advances over the generation before them, there have been a number of major set backs as well. Obesity, once a rare problem in the United States, is now an epidemic and affects every generation. And, while it is a major concern, it is not topping the list of concerns for the Boomers, at least not according to a recent survey.

The Associated Press releasing the results of a poll that found that while many of the Baby Boomers said that they got “some” aerobic exercise one time a week, they almost all fell short of the recommended level of two hours of cumulative exercise. Only one fourth of the Boomers reported working out to the point of sweating four to five times a week and nearly forty percent of them admitted that they never lifted weights or did any kind of strength training at all. That is a serious problem, according to doctors because humans lose muscle mass as they age. Walking was by far, the most popular form of exercise for the Baby Boomers.

One third of the Baby Boomers are obese while another 36% of them are overweight and potentially on the way to obesity. One half of those Boomers who are currently obese report that they did no exercise at all. Sixty percent of all of this generation reported that they were on some kind of diet to lose weight and were also trying to lower the amount of sodium in their diets. Doctors stress that dieting alone is even more dangerous for this age group because of the risk of hastening the loss of lean muscle mass.

During the survey, the participants were asked to rank their health care fears by number with cancer coming in at number one. In the nation, cancer is the second overall most common cause of death, behind heart disease. Heart disease came in number three on the list of fears for the Baby Boomers, behind memory loss/dementia.

Experts have been quick to point out that healthy diet and exercise are key preventions to all of these fears, including heart disease, cancer and even memory loss. Obesity increases the risk of a number of physical and cognitive conditions, so even losing as little as ten pounds can lessen the impact of certain diseases.

According to a study performed by the Harvard Medical School, active women with cardiovascular disease outperformed non-active women on cognitive tests. In the study, 2800 women, all with cardiovascular disease were given a number of cognitive tests over a five year period.

A second study showed that daily walking, described as a 30 minute, brisk walk, could delay the signs of mental aging by as many as seven years.