Valparaiso, Michigan City, La Porte, Knox, IN – Northwest Health has developed an exciting new initiative designed to empower our community to live longer, healthier lives. Enjoy the Ride: Navigating a Longer, Healthier Life is a FREE 12-day, longevity-focused email series launching on Sept. 15. Its goal is to share actionable information based on current health and wellness research.

According to the CDC, Americans’ average lifespan is longer than ever – 74.8 years for men and 80 for women. But Americans’ healthspan – how long a person is healthy and free of disease – is decreasing. Baby Boomers are more likely than their parents to have cancer, lung disease, heart disease, diabetes, high cholesterol, obesity, hearing problems, and mobility difficulties. Longevity merges lifespan and healthspan in the idea of growing older and staying healthy at the same time.

“Longevity takes into account not only a person’s chronological age, but also biological age,” says Alex Alvarez, M.D., a Northwest Health family medicine physician in La Porte. “Age-related decline doesn’t have to be a foregone conclusion. With informed, proactive choices, at age 80, a person essentially could have the level of health expected at age 60.”

The Enjoy the Ride email series is designed to help people make proactive choices for long-term wellness. Daily road trip-themed emails include information about conditions most prevalent with aging, ways to prevent those diseases, and descriptions of how healthy choices can impact longevity. 

“We find people in their 30s are already considering longevity, especially if they have a family history of conditions like heart disease or dementia,” says Chike Okolocha, D.O., A family medicine with Northwest Health in Valparaiso. “We’re happy to see this trend because it’s never too early to start thinking about what you want your future health to look like—and we want to help people map that for themselves.” 

To learn more about maintaining your brain, vision, hearing, heart, kidney, liver, gut, musculoskeletal and sleep health as you age, Northwest Health is encouraging sign ups for Enjoy the Ride: Navigating a Longer, Healthier Life, at NWHealthIN.com/longevity. They'll also give away prizes every day to help get people on “the road” ahead.

About Northwest Health
Northwest Health is a regional healthcare system committed to providing communities in Northwest Indiana with high-quality, accessible health care — from highly specialized care and surgical services to more routine primary care. The system of more than 60 access points includes three hospitals, five emergency departments, urgent care centers, outpatient surgery centers, an ambulance service, and physician offices. A compassionate team of caregivers work hard to fulfill its mission to help people get well and live healthier. For more information, visit NWHealthIN.com.