LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Dr. Morris Notelovitz, an expert in the field of middle age, is 49 years old and cringes at the thought of being 20 again.
'I'm in better shape than I was 10 years ago, and I feel great,' said Notelovitz. 'I practice what I preach.'
What Notelovitz shouts from the mountaintops is acceptance -- and enjoyment -- of middle life. As a gynecologist, Notelovitz specifically targets menopause and women.
Notelovitz, a University of Florida professor, is chairman of the International Congress on the Menopause that recently held its first-ever meeting in the United States.
The congress not only attracted more than 500 experts in the field but also served to dispel what Notelovitz and others call the 'myth' surrounding menopause and middle age.
Many medical ailments, ranging from breast cancer to irritability, have been linked to menopause, which marks the end of child-bearing years for women. However, many experts contend those maladies have little or nothing to do with menopause and often can be avoided by basic means, such as hormone replacement, exercise and better dietary habits.
Recent studies also show only about 20 percent of women going through menopause suffer serious enough symptoms to see a doctor -- a figure much smaller than one might expect to find after hearing horror stories of hot flashes and severe depression associated with middle age.
The experts admit the human body undergoes many changes as people approach and enter middle age. However, people no longer must sit back and take what life throws their way, the new theory goes. If people can change their way of life, they can improve their life.
'Once you accept a new lifestyle, age almost becomes irrelevant,' said Notelovitz.
Regular exercise, appropriate diet and moderation in everything represent the foundation for a lifestyle change, Notelovitz said.
He said such simple measures can help stave off cardiovascular problems, diabetes and even osteoporosis, a crippling bone-thinning disease that primarily affects women after menopause.
Osteoporosis cannot be cured, but new research shows it can be prevented.
That's the basis for much of the study of climacteric -- middle-age - medicine. Prevention is the key. Dieting and exercise must be undertaken at 35 instead of 65, when it's probably too late to help.
In the case of osteoporosis, which is responsible for 270,000 hip fractures a year and the premature deaths of 40,000 to 50,000 women, the problem results from inadequate calcium consumption and a loss of the female hormone estrogen.
Researchers are learning that estrogen replacement can help prevent the onset of osteoporosis.
Notelovitz admits there are still mysteries to be unraveled regarding menopause, such as why falling estrogen levels affect some women and other others.
But climacteric medicine is relatively new compared with pediatrics (children) and geriatrics (the elderly). Notelovitz said too much emphasis has been placed on those fields and not enough on climacterics.
But climacterics is gaining, and Notelovitz predicts it will be raised to the same level with pediatrics and geriatrics in the next decade. With more emphasis on middle age medicine, Notelovitz said people will be healthier as they grow older and less pressure will be placed on doctors treating the elderly.
