Council on Aging - Answers 2023 - 10

COUNCIL ON AGING - SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Turning
100
Increasing Longevity
Promises Change
Question: I recently have read a lot about living
to be 100. It seems that it's close to becoming a
reality. It sounds good but I have some concerns.
What are your thoughts on this topic?
Answer: Indeed, we are hearing a lot about
living to be 100, with feature stories about
centenarians' secrets in living a long life. We
learn about diets, life extension and research on
interventions that may impede or reverse aging
and extend longevity. There is the New England
Centenarian Study at Boston University and the
Longevity Genes Project at the Albert Einstein
College of Medicine. Add to that the Gerontology
Research Group meeting at UCLA, which tracks the
oldest living people, and the " Blue Zones " project
studying the lifestyle habits of the longest-lived folks
on the planet.
In the U.S. there are about 90,000 people 100 or
older, which is nearly twice as many as there were
20 years ago. In California, that number is 8,000.
Furthermore, about half of current 5-year-olds in
the U.S. can expect to live to age 100, which likely
will be the norm for newborns by 2050.
Most people want to live that long a life if their
physical and mental functions are intact. That's my
10
Answers Guide 23/24
experience in addressing many diverse groups. I
often begin my talks with, " How many here today
want to live to be 100? " About three or four hands
go up. When I rephrase the question, " How many
would like to live to be 100 if they are doing well
physically and mentally? " almost all hands are
raised, whether it is a group of 20 or 1,000.
There are concerns about a rapidly aging
population: Alzheimer's disease, ageism, economic
disparities, adequate and accessible health care
and affordable housing, to name a few.
Yet, there is a different approach to aging that
is optimistic and looks at possibilities. Lynda
Gratton, professor of management practice at the
London School of Business, and Andrew Scott,
professor of economics at the same school, are
the authors of " The 100-Year Life " (Bloomsbury,
2016). They suggest we have an opportunity to
restructure our lives to live that longer span.
The traditional pathways of education, work and
then retirement are a " pathway that is already
beginning to collapse. " Laura Carstensen, director of
the Stanford Longevity Center and the New Map of
Life initiative, advocates the same. Let's take a futurist
approach and recognize longevity as an opportunity
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Council on Aging - Answers 2023

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