CHAPTER 11: IMPLICATIONS OF AN EXTENDED HEALTHSPAN

We live in a time in which biomedicine is poised to implement interventions that extend the length of a healthy life span. Public health and medical policy experts are investigating ways in which caloric reduction and exercise can be implemented within the general population. In addition, biogerontologists have identified genes and molecular pathways that slow the rate of aging, reduce chronic disease, and extend longevity in laboratory animals. It remains only a matter of time until interventions aimed at slowing the rate of aging at the cellular and molecular levels are tested in humans (small-scale trials have already begun). Healthy and successful aging will be the rule rather than the exception.

In this chapter, we discuss how an extended healthspan, the number of years spent free of disability, will be achieved, and how a healthy aging population might change society and culture. Our discussion of healthspan focuses on the future. Predicting the future, especially in the rapidly changing world of biotechnology, can be challenging. We are, therefore, limiting the definition of the future to 2–3 decades from now. This time period, while admittedly somewhat arbitrary, allows us to make predictions that can be reasonably defended based on current scientific knowledge. Moreover, this chapter focuses primarily on healthspan, not life span, although most experts expect that a healthier older population will result in gains of life expectancy. Gains in average life span or life expectancy will be modest, not much beyond 5–10 years during the time frame we have defined as the future.