Poor Physical Health

Indicator Definition
Adults (ages 65 and older) who reported that their physical health “was not good” eight or more days during the past month.

Older adults who report poor physical health eight or more days within past month in Colorado3*

Older adults who report poor physical health eight or more days within past month by income in Colorado4

Indicator Significance
Physical health is a key indicator of overall well-being as people age. Lifestyle choices—such as inactivity, smoking, poor diet and social isolation—can affect an individual’s perception of physical health. Likewise, physical health is strongly associated with mental health. People who suffer from one or more chronic illnesses are more likely to report poor mental health, whereas those who have a chronic mental illness often have a secondary or primary physical condition. Physical symptoms such as stomach problems and low energy in older adults often suggest underlying mental health concerns such as depression. For this reason, depressed older adults spend three times as much on medical care as non-depressed older adults.¹

Colorado Specifics
Colorado performs fair compared to other states in the proportion of older adults reporting poor physical health, ranking 17th. There has been little change since 2000 in the proportion of older Coloradans reporting poor physical health. People in lower income brackets are much more likely to report poor physical health than those with higher incomes. Improvements in physical activity and preventive health care could boost Colorado’s performance on this important health indicator.

Promising Initiatives
LiveWell Wheat Ridge staff and the Jefferson County extension nutrition educator have developed the Bridge on the Bus program to combat health issues related to poor nutrition in older adults. The program assists participants in gaining access to healthy foods at nearby grocery stores and discusses healthy eating habits. Once a week during the fall and winter months, LiveWell Wheat Ridge staff accompanies participants to local grocery stores and provide education on a variety of nutrition and food resource management topics.²

Participants report saving money on their weekly grocery bills and increased awareness of what to look for in the ingredients listed on nutrition labels.

Older adults who report poor physical health eight or more days within past month⁵

Color coding: Statistical tests were used to determine if the average for Colorado was significantly different than the averages for other states. States with a medium shade of orange had averages that were not statistically different from Colorado’s average and states colored in a light shade of orange had averages that were statistically different from Colorado’s average.

Text

1. Hawkins, B.A. “Aging Well: Toward a way of life for all people,” Preventing Chronic Disease; July 2005.
   
2. LiveWell Colorado.
   

Charts

3. Source: Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and Colorado Health Institute analysis of Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2000–2008, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
   
   * Note: Data for 2002 are not available because the question for this indicator was not included in the survey that year.
   
   
4. Source: Colorado Health Institute analysis of Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2008, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
   
5. Source: National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2008, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.