Most Older Americans Living Longer and Better

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Milner thinks new ways of getting people to be more active are needed. People don't realize that only a little physical activity can have a major impact on their health, he said.

"People see athletic activity, and they say: 'Forget it. I can't do that, I'm old,' " Milner said."We can save roughly $77 billion in health-care costs by increasing physical activity," he noted.

Milner said he's also concerned that older people spend too much time watching TV and becoming socially isolated.

"How long is it going to be before we engineer socialization out of our lifestyle," Milner said. "By 2020, depression will be the second-leading cause of premature death according to the World Health Organization. And now, you're taking socialization out of a lifestyle."

More information

To see the full report, visit the U.S. Federal Interagency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics.