Baby boomers are turning 50 in record numbers...for the next 18 years, a baby boomer will enter his/her 50s every eight seconds.

Already, almost 5 million baby boomers are estimated to have diabetes, a chronic disease that can cause devastating complications if not controlled. And, with the new American Diabetes Association (ADA) guidelines, which lower the threshold for diagnosing the disease and call for regular screening of all people age 45 and older, the number is expected to increase by 2 million people.

LifeScan, a division of Johnson & Johnson, just introduced the FastTake^TM Compact Blood Glucose Monitoring System, for baby boomers with diabetes, as well as all people with the disease who are active, on-the-go and health-minded. Frequent self-monitoring of blood glucose levels is the key to managing diet, medication and exercise regimens.

LifeScan provides these facts to help baby boomers with diabetes put this milestone in perspective:

FASTTAKE FITNESS FACTS

People between the ages of 35-49 have a diet containing 38% fat -- much more than the desired level.

Nearly 3 out of 4 baby boomers' restaurant meals are purchased at a fast food restaurant. Compared to the rest of the population, baby boomers are less likely to read food labels and to diet than any other group.

After age 40 bone loss exceeds formation and men and women can lose 1% of their bone mass each year.

After age 30 our strength declines 1% per year, with muscle tissue deteriorating at 3% to 6% per decade. By age 65, many people will have lost as much as 45% of their strength, making daily activities such as climbing stairs and carrying groceries difficult.

Osteoporosis affects as many as 15-20 million individuals in the U.S. and accounts for more than 1.3 million fractures in people over the age of 45.

Lack of exercise is a major risk factor of heart disease. Other key risk factors are smoking, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

The number of frequent exercisers in the 34-55 age group has increased more than 60% since 1987. People 35 and older comprise 56% of all frequent exercisers and 45% of all health club members.

All people with diabetes (almost 5 million of whom are baby boomers) benefit from strength (resistance) training, in addition to cardiovascular workouts such as walking and aerobics.

LifeScan is a leading maker of blood g1ucose monitoring systems that provide simple solutions to meet the needs of people with diabetes. Every day more than two million people with diabetes rely on LifeScan Systems for simple testing and accurate results.

LifeScan can be found at http://www.LifeScan.com, on the World Wide Web.

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