Health risks
As older people are at greater risk of many diseases and disabilities, it is important for this population to avoid health risks that could increase the probability of these threats. However, in 2021, around 8.9 percent of adults aged 65 years and older still smoked cigarettes, a slight increase from previous years. Furthermore, an estimated 29.5 percent of older adults in the U.S. were obese in 2021, an increase from 26.7 percent in 2013. Being overweight or obese is a major risk factor for diabetes, which is a rising problem among older adults in the United States. From 2017 to 2020, it was estimated that around 29 percent of those aged 65 years and older in the U.S. were living with diabetes.One of the worst diseases that older people face is inarguably Alzheimer's disease, with an estimated 12.7 million older people expected to suffer from the disease by 2050. In 2019, the death rate from Alzheimer's among those aged 85 years and older was 1,191 per 100,000 population. Alzheimer's disease is currently the seventh leading cause of death in the United States.