Health & Family

In his earliest cartoon appearances, Popeye was missing one eye. Later, he had two working eyes, but one of them always squinted as the sailor with the huge forearms pummeled evil Bluto.

And as the number of morbidly obese Americans goes up, emergency crews are straining their backs and budgets to get them to hospitals.

Despite its reputation, aging doesn't have to be a miserable process. Though some factors – our parents and the genes we inherit from them – may be out of our control, we can greatly influence how we enter the golden years by doing simple things, aging experts say.

As other families save money paring down travel during this recession, Tanya Morris and her brood do the opposite and downsize living expenses to better afford trips and even a week at science camp for her kids.