An Aging World

People are living longer.

Multiple studies published in respectable scientific publications clearly indicate that longevity is on the rise, even in developing countries. Any young adult person who today belongs in a middle class socio-economic category can expect, on average, to live to 80 years old. Japan currently heads the longevity league with an average score of 82 years. Conversely, fertility in most developed countries is negative, below the 2.2 children required per couple. The two trajectories points to a critical crossover expected in 2014, whereby for the first time in the history of the world the number of adults over the age of 65 years will be greater than the children under the age of 5 years. The fastest growing age group is 80 to 90 years. And to make the numbers even more interesting is the prediction published in the journal Lancet (October, 2009) that fifty per cent of children born in 2000 will be living in 2100! In other words, centurions will be the norm for our great-great grand children.

However, increasing lifespan will come at a cost – medical, social, financial, and moral. Enormous challenges face societies that will need to dig deep to find the wide range of resources to manage the dramatic future change in demographics. An example: It is expected that at least 25% of persons over 85 years old will have significant memory problems and thus require constant care by others. Who will pay for these services?

The really good news is the emerging positive information on brain plasticity - that is the ability of the brain to learn new things and ways of adapting to changing environments throughout life. Many neuroscientists concur that this is one the most significant findings of the past twenty years. But there is also a wealth of information on many other aspects of our daily lives in order to age well: Nutrition, exercise, relationships, attitude, security, brain exercises….…………..

The objective of the Aging Well email is to provide cutting edge scientific evidence for you to use in your own unique circumstances to age well and successfully.

Questions: 1). How would you define successful aging?
2). What are the necessary components of successful aging?

You can send your responses to my email address: jacben@telkomsa.net

Dr. Jonathan D Moch