To Our Readers

BY JOHN FLANAGAN

Sunday, May 20, 2001

The graying of Hawaii
is very encouraging
to some of us

The median age of Hawaii residents, 36.2 years old, is now 11 percent older than it was 10 years ago while the rest of the nation's population only aged 7.3 percent to 35.3.

So, besides having kids who are too fat, we now have to face another disturbing fact: Hawaii is aging fast. In 1990, our population was a tad younger than the country as a whole. Today, we're about a year older.

These statistics, generated by the U.S. Census Bureau, show the age group that really surged here was folks over 75 -- up a whopping 62.5 percent.

The 14-year group from 45 to 59 also shot up, growing 50.2 percent. This segment includes the vanguard of the post-WWII Baby Boom generation and numbers 231,540 individuals.

There are more people - 23,028 more to be exact - in the 14-year age group between the ages of 20 and 34 than between 45 and 59, but the number of 20-to-34s actually decreased by 12.7 percent during the 1990s.

As a card-carrying Boomer, I'm used to riding the crest of the demographic wave. Besides sheer numbers, our generation was the first to enjoy penicillin, antibiotics, polio vaccine and television. Fewer of us died of childhood diseases and most of us even gave up smoking before it did us in.

Just as we reached sexual maturity, along came birth control pills. Accordingly, we put off having kids, creating a big dip in the 20 to 34 age group.

Now, we see a demographic echo, as the number of kids under 5 years old in Hawaii -- our grandchildren -- dropped 6.1 percent from 1990 to 2000.

Our medical good fortune has persisted. New cancer treatments, blood pressure and cholesterol medications and, yes, even Viagra are keeping Boomers alive and kicking to a degree unknown in history.

Past generations spoke of growing old gracefully, but ours has pretty much decided to change the subject and avoid growing old at all.

Of course, the inevitable awaits us all, but we're encouraged that the fastest growing age group -- up an incredible 68.9 percent -- are folks over 85.

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John Flanagan is editor and publisher of the Star-Bulletin.
To reach him call 529-4748, fax to 529-4750, send
e-mail to publisher@starbulletin.com or write to
500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-500, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813.