Local series embraces healthy aging

Not many people want to think about their parents having sex.

But parents do have sex, and if they have any say about it, they're going to do it for a long, long time.

Sexuality is one of many topics covered in "The Art of Aging," a locally produced television series that brings viewers the upsides of getting older -- especially the sizable baby boomer part of the general population. The series uses local health experts and shoots at locations familiar to Seattle residents to redefine what it means to get older.

It's about dispelling myths.

"The main one is that aging is all downhill, because it's not, there are a lot of upsides to aging," said Dr. Eric B. Larson, director of Group Health Center for Health Studies and former medical director at the University of Washington, who has spent decades researching aging and projects related to promoting healthy aging. He is one of a trio behind the making of the series. He's also a boomer.

"One upside: talking about relationships. You develop relationships in very different ways," he said, "but you have wonderful relationships at 60, 65, 75 and 85. You have that possibility of having that relationship, when you might have thought because your partner died or you're divorced, you think you never could start over again."

The series, which debuted last year, has two half-hour episodes this year. The first one, "Andropause, Menopause and Sexuality," airs on KCTS/9 Sunday at 1 p.m. The second, "Caregiving, Community and Diabetes," airs at the same time April 6. Ron Reagan is the narrator and Michelle Mansfield is the director and producer.

The series plays up the benefits of yoga, of being able to talk to physicians openly about prostate and menopause issues, of the benefits of proper nutrition and exercise. One couple opens up about the challenges when one partner has Alzheimer's. Experts volley around words they hope baby boomers and others can discuss freely: orgasm, foreplay, vaginal dryness, erectile dysfunction, commercial lubricants and STDs.

Baby boomers, the filmmakers surmised, have more resources at their disposal for being healthier than previous generations -- better education, better medical care, better control of cardiac risk factors (quitting smoking, for instance) and having access to more information about their health.

The Seattle area, in particular, is a perfect place to set these documentaries.

"We all just think that the Northwest kind of excels on the forefront of some of the most exciting research and a lot of things that have to do with exercise and being healthy," said executive producer Julianne Collier, who does media relations at the UW. "We just wanted to be part of that. We've done three shows and are looking to do more to just kind of put the Northwest on the map as far as preventive medicine goes."