Cognitive health has proven quite a noteworthy trend in the nutraceutical arena and is making increasing in-roads into mainstream foods and beverages, as a sizable demographic explores options to retain its brain health as it reaches retirement age.
Put simply, the surge in an older population has distinct consequences from a cognitive health perspective. The National Institute on Aging commissioned the “Health and Retirement Study” to “inform the national retirement discussion as the population so dramatically ages.” It found, “A preliminary study based on HRS data indicates that some 10% of people age 70 and older have moderate to severe cognitive impairment, and prevalence rises sharply with age. In the community, an estimated 6% of people over 70 have moderate to severe impairment, while some 50% of those institutionalized do.”
Indeed, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has called for an increased awareness of and focus upon cognitive health, stating: “The need for a clearly delineated public health role comes at a critical time, given the dramatic aging of the U.S. population; scientific advancements in knowledge about risk behaviors (e.g., lack of physical activity, uncontrolled high blood pressure) related to cognitive decline; and the growing awareness of the significant health, social and economic burdens associated with cognitive decline.”