Primary aging: (Genetic Predisposition)
The number of years our bodies are biologically capable of delivering.

Secondary aging: (Life Style Choices)
The things we do to ourselves to hasten the aging process.

This past week I attended the “What’s Next Boomer Business Summit” held in Las Vegas, Nevada. The conference brought together the best thinkers on the topics of aging and marketing under one roof at Bally’s on the Strip in “Sin-City.”

It’s generally thought that the city began in 1905 when the Union Pacific Railroad began passing through the desert oasis for refueling and a place to rest. Las Vegas, which is located in Clark County, means “The Meadows” in Spanish because of the natural springs in the area.

Nevada was the very first state to legalize casinos and in the beginning there was no state speed limit, no sales tax, no waiting period for marriages, no state income tax and gambling was totally unregulated (woohoo, pure compulsions here we come, Disneyland for the id!). Gamblers used silver dollars, later to be replaced with silver-dollar-size plastic chips.

In the 1950′s Las Vegas had become a vacation destination with the era of Elvis, the Rat Pack and Liberace; who all reined over the Strip. Many also came to get married and un-married, as the quickie divorce was popularized there.

I agree with my fellow attendee, Louis Tenenbaum, Las Vegas is not my idea vacation destination—in fact it reminds me of human-scale hamster-habitrails with all the plastic pipes and lots of shinny things to amuse the inhabitants. I’ve never been one for contrived environments, but having said that, what the mind of “man” has created in the desert is amazing and worth the trip.

Simulacrum (plural: -cra), from the Latin simulacrum which means “likeness, similarity”, is first recorded in the English language in the late 16th century, used to describe a representation of another thing, such as a statue or a painting, especially of a god; by the late 19th century, it had gathered a secondary association of inferiority: an image without the substance or qualities of the original.– From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I sat in the early morning sun next to a series of fountains. The vital sound of cascading water was accompanied by the velvety voice of piped in Frank Sinatra; the combination was soothing. The “Eiffel Tower” above the Strip bathed in the Nevada sun stretched the imagination and was as unlikely a paring as walking down the street with a mixed drink in hand.

Las Vegas is a living monument to simulacra and an oasis of extreme contrasts…that’s the appeal.

Secondary Aging
Some visit the city to partake in the usual suspects of smoking, drinking, excessive sun exposure, stress (loss wages), lack of adequate sleep, inactivity, poor diet, unprotected sex with strangers, drugs, and potential avoidable accidents/illness—what is otherwise known as “Secondary aging.”

The marketing statement: “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas,” isn’t necessarily true. Secondary agers have a way of accumulating and showing up later, like an unfailing boomerang.

Since the conference for the American Society On Aging was the focus of the week in Vegas, it got me thinking what it must be like to grow older there. I set out to find evidence of people aging in the land of gambling and all-nighters. I engaged several baggage handlers, and a bar tender; all had been there over 20 years. I also noticed many older casino workers.

I imagined them arriving as young curious adventures and staying to work in the service industries after having kids and settling down; which was the case for several I talked with. Others may have come for the jobs after retirement.

Social Determinants of Health (aka, Secondary Aging)
According to public health officials in Nevada, lifestyle factors known to result in disease are higher in Clark County than the nation. The prevalence of current smokers was 26% from 2000 to 2005, compared to the national prevalence of 20.5%.

The figure doesn’t take into account the number of casino workers who are exposed to second-hand smoke as part of their jobs. The frequency of binge drinking during the same time period was 18%, also higher than the national prevalence of 14.4%. Heavy drinking prevalence (7%) was also higher in Clark County than nationally (4.9%). Excessive alcohol causes liver disease and unintentional injuries, which are both higher in Clark County than the nation, as well.

For now there is little we can do about primary aging, however that may change in the near future—but, from studies like The MacArthur Foundation Study on successful aging, we know that only about 30% of physical aging can be determined by genes; the rest is due to life style factors. As we get older genetics becomes less important and environment and lifestyle more important.

Many of the things we blame on aging really have nothing to do with getting older.
-Ben Douglas, PhD

Las Vegas really is a fun place to visit and a wonderful convention destination site. As I was checking out at 7:30 AM, rolling my suitcase through the center lane in the casino I glanced over to a gentleman walking next to me; in his right hand were 2 long-neck bottles of beer. I jokingly said: “Is that breakfast?” He replied: “Nope…the whiskey was.”

See

Thanks to Mary Furlong & Associates for a wonderful Boomer Business Summit!
 Successful Aging by John Rowe & Robert Kahn for more on the MacArthur Foundation Study on successful aging.
Louis Tenenbaum: aginginplaceguide.blogspot.com
Note to self: Never write a blog entry with a migraine–it does funny things to your ability to spell and make use of the English language!

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