Towards A New Understanding Of Adulthood

Science, tell me how the next generation is doing.

If you’re a young adult, chances are high blood pressure isn’t high on your list of things to worry about. But a new study by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill suggests maybe it should be. They found that nearly one in five young adults between the ages of 24 and 32 has high blood pressure, also referred to as hypertension.

Okay, well, I can’t exactly claim to be surprised by this, what with our sedentary lifestyles and the amount of processed crap we cram into our gullets as we sit, dull-eyed, in the reflected glare of one screen or another. But BACK THE FUCK UP FOR A SECOND? “[Y]oung adults between the ages of 24 and 32”? Really? Is that how we’re defining it now? Because, WOO HOO, I guess that just makes me “an adult.” We’re totally going to take this “40 is the new 30” bullshit as far as we can, aren’t we? Fine by me! As an adult — and one on the younger end of that definition — I feel entirely comfortable with that. Also, you kids should eat less salt, it’s not good for your blood pressure.

Photo by Tom Raftery, from Flickr.