Special Reports

If youre over 65 or approaching that age and still watching your weight, new findings suggest you may be worrying about the wrong thing. Its true that the obesity epidemic has exacted a serious toll on Americas health. But for older adults, maintaining muscle mass to ward off frailty-a condition called sarcopenia-is more important both to the length and quality of life than counting pounds. The popular Body Mass Index (BMI-see box), a calculation that combines weight and height, turns out not to be a very good predictor of health for older adults-for whom the rules about overweight may simply be different than for younger people.

If these thirsty, sweaty summer days have you worrying whether youre getting eight glasses of water a day-as conventional wisdom says you should-you need to take a closer look at the facts versus the fictions about hydration.

Among the many pleasures of summer is the return of fresh, wild-caught salmon to local supermarkets. In general, wild salmon are in season from May through September, depending on species. Richly flavored and easy to prepare in a variety of ways (see recipe on the next page), its no wonder salmon is Americas third most-consumed seafood, behind only shrimp and tuna, at about two pounds per person annually.

If you turn to herbal or botanical treatments or other alternative products marketed as dietary supplements to counter chronic conditions or boost your well-being, recent headlines might make you think twice before reaching for that pill bottle. Just in the past 12 months, regulators have warned of dangers from unlabeled pharmaceutical ingredients in an arthritis product and thyroid hormones in energy-boosting pills. Medical experts have reported an alarming increase in liver damage linked to weight-loss and fat-burning products.

An estimated 5 million Americans age 65 and older have Alzheimers disease-a figure expected to increase 40% by 2025 and to nearly triple by mid-century, according to the Alzheimers Association . Many more suffer from other forms of dementia and from cognitive decline. Science is making unprecedented strides toward preventing and slowing such conditions, however. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Scientists have learned more about the brain in the last 10 years than in all previous centuries, because of the accelerating pace of research in neurological and behavioral science and the development of new research techniques.

Who hasnt wished for more energy at one time or another? Whether youre feeling the effects of hectic modern life or of aging, its only natural to sometimes think your get up and go has gotten up and gone. Little wonder, then, that food, beverage and supplement companies have filled supermarket shelves with products promising to boost energy. So-called energy drinks, introduced only 17 years ago, today represent a $12.5 billion industry. Energy bars rack up more than $700 million in annual sales. Dietary supplements promise timed-release energy, energy therapy and energy revitalization.

Youve seen the TV commercials. A daily multivitamin supports heart and breast health, boosts your immune system and protects your eyes. A smiling couple feel pretty darned smart after learning that a study showing multivitamins reduce cancer risk used the very brand shes been making him take.

If you believe the bestseller lists, the biggest bad in the supermarket aisles is not fat or sodium or sugar but wheat. Its not just the booming popularity of gluten-free products, which are important for the small percentage of people diagnosed with celiac disease but whose benefits for the general population are questionable. (For a full discussion of the pros and cons of gluten-free products, see our October 2013 Special Report.) Bestselling books have warned that wheat consumption is a key contributor to abdominal fat (wheat belly), as well as triggering diseases ranging from diabetes to autism, and that eating wheat is linked to Alzheimers, depression, headaches, epilepsy and ADHD.

When the American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association released new guidelines for preventing cardiovascular disease in November, the headlines all focused on their controversial recommendations for statin use. Almost lost in the coverage was another set of ACC/AHA recommendations, which looked at diet and physical activity rather than drugs for reducing cardiovascular risk. Whether your physician has prescribed statin medications or not, these Lifestyle Management Guidelines can help protect your heart.

With some 50 million Americans afflicted by arthritis, chances are that even if you dont suffer from the disease, your spouse or someone else close to you does. But theres hope for this painful condition. Arthritis patients have a range of medications available, and today most know the benefits of exercise for improving their condition. While once arthritis sufferers were told rest is best, research at Tufts and elsewhere has shown that strength training in particular can help prevent and reduce arthritis symptoms.