Archive for October, 2009

Former Rock Chick Living the Good Life

Lina Ko October 26th, 2009

I’m tired of talking about the doom and gloom news on this blog. So, for a change, I’ll mention another boomer woman whose glorious past and a divorce 10 years ago didn’t stop her from further developing herself.

I read with interest in Hello! Canada how Jerry Hall, a former model and ex-wife of Mick Jagger, has been staying in the same house in Richmond, U.K., where she raised her four kids. At 53, the statuesque Texan looks amazing. She appeared on the London stage in Calendar Girls with critical acclaim (not just on her naked body!) and contintues to be involved with various charities and campaigns. She has also completed a university degree, writes poetry and is planning to do a Cordon Bleu cooking course. On top of all these, she has also got her captain’s licence for boat driving.

With no plastic surgery (she might have Botox here and there) and an accomplished life, this former rock chick is single but happy. She also told the publication that she would not go out with a rock star again. I never thought Jerry Hall was attractive in her younger days, but she is increasingly beautiful every time when I saw her on TV or read about her in a magazine. Maybe as she said, happiness and self-accomplishment drive away wrinkles.

Demand for Physiotherapy on the Rise

Lina Ko October 16th, 2009

According to The Ottawa Citizen, the practice of physiotherapy is on the rise – up in the last decade by 100 percent – because we have an aging population that wants to stay active. An epidemic of physical fitness is breaking out among the 50-plus generation. Suddenly there are Canadians who at 50 are fitter than they have been in their adult lives. They are running marathons even after having heart attacks. They are training five days a week. Pilates and yoga classes are thick with them. Canada had 2,000 athletes in the recent World Masters Games in Australia, the most of any of the 95 visiting countries. This surge of exercise is a phenomenon of baby boomers who wish to live forever, or at least to live as if they were young.

Scientists say health-conscious boomers may be right. Exercise slows the rate of muscle loss, joint stiffening and artery hardening. It reduces the risk of glaucoma. Even elderly couch potatoes who take up exercise in their 80s can live healthier and longer lives.

To keep the aging population active, there is a lot of demand for physiotherapy. In 1999, there were 2,500 members of the Order of Physiotherapists, the professional order. Now there are more than 6,000 members. Each year, about 155 physiotherapists graduate from universities, but by 2012-13, with the newly created masters program, 260 expect to graduate annually. Physiotherapists are trained to manage and prevent many of the physical problems caused by illness, sport- and work-related injuries and aging.

Some physiotherapy clinics are smart enough to incorporate the fitness component.  The body wears down over time, and sometimes exercising incorrectly can flare up a previous injury or bring on new ones. An active lifestyle is becoming more the norm than the exception. But with that, comes the cost of correcting and fixing injuries due to the overzealousness of keeping fit.

Toronto Highly Desirable But Unaffordable

Lina Ko October 6th, 2009

According to the 2008 MasterCard index of 75 leading global centres of commerce, Toronto is 13th in liveability and fourth in ease of doing business in the world. And when it comes to innovation, we rank second place in North America and among the top 20 cities globally.  According to another Quality of Living survey, we also have a highly desirable quality of life as we rank 15th out of 215 global cities for the fourth year in a row. The Toronto Star reported that at home, our standing is equally strong. While we are still hurting from the impact of the global recession, we’ve done better than most cities in Canada. Toronto is the second wealthiest city in the country after Vancouver, with an average household net worth of $562,000.

Crime levels fell in 2008 for the fifth year in a row; water usage continues to drop; and we have greater access to healthy, local food as farmers’ markets proliferate. All sounds good, but we’ve got some bad news.

Toronto is rated ‘seriously unaffordable’, ranking 190th internationally, and 29th in Canada, with median household prices 4.8 times median household incomes. We’re also approaching the same company as Italy and Japan in the category of ‘countries with the world’s oldest populations’. Toronto  has the highest proportion of seniors in the GTA and nearly double the rate of low-income seniors in Ontario. Unfortunately, more seniors are living alone, cut off from family and community.  The youth unemployment rate surpassed 20 percent in June 2009, up five percent in just one year and four percent higher than the national rate. And there are twice as many youth gangs as in 2000.

I have blogged before that immigrants could be an important solution to an ageing population. Unfortunately, recent immigrants are three times more likely to have lost jobs due to the economic downturn than their Canadian-born colleagues. And the Star further reported that for those who still have jobs, the earnings gap widened significantly.  So in summary, if you’re poor, you’ve gotten poorer. If you’re old, you’re more likely to be poor. If you’re new to this country, the recession has hit you the hardest. And if you’re young, you’re not going to have an easy life ahead. Moreover, in Toronto, there will be more seniors than children in 25 years requiring supports and services at a level not yet available.

This certainly paints a very gloomy picture.  However, for us boomers, we need to continue to work harder and longer so that we can become self-sufficient in our senior years and not become a burden to society. As the Toronto Community Foundation says, we need to leverage all our unique advantages to find new solutions to new problems.  We need to create a more efficient city that can withstand the inevitable demographic shifts ahead. I also agree with the Foundation that the knowledge and creativity that rank us so high internationally can make us stronger and more resilient. And all of us in Toronto – old, middle-aged and young – have a role to play!