Longevity’s Promise and Peril: Experts Weigh in on the Quest for a Longer, Healthier Life
NEW YORK – Living longer is now one of humankind’s greatest achievements. Yet, as the global population ages, it presents a challenge: how do we ensure those extra years are healthy and fulfilling?
The rise in life expectancy has brought with it an increase in age-related disorders, with dementia posing a important public health challenge worldwide.
Alexandre Kalache, a public health expert and former director at the world health institution (WHO), believes that longevity will be a defining issue of the 21st century. In a recent interview, Kalache stated that societies are shifting away from a focus on disease and toward a proactive approach too health and wellness.
This shift has led to a growing interest in how we can live not just longer, but also healthier. Valter Longo, a biologist and professor at the University of Southern California, suggests that reaching 100 years or more is possible, but requires proactive measures. He warns that without such efforts, individuals may live to 80 but spend the last decades of their lives dependent on numerous medications.
Longo advocates for a plant-based diet with fish, while Harvard geneticist David Sinclair emphasizes the importance of understanding the aging process to slow it down. Both experts highlight the impact of diet on longevity, offering insights into their daily food choices.
The principles of healthy eating, sufficient rest, and regular exercise are now considered fundamental to living a long and healthy life.
Bryan Johnson, an American millionaire, has gained attention for his extreme approach to longevity, involving constant monitoring by a team of 30 doctors to reduce his biological age. Johnson told Infobae, “I’ve become really good at not dying,” reflecting the proactive and sometiems unconventional methods people are exploring to extend their lifespan.
though, some experts caution against unrealistic expectations. jay Olshansky, a researcher at the University of Illinois Chicago, along with scientists from harvard, UCLA, and the University of Hawaii, published a study in Nature Aging suggesting that the rate of increase in life expectancy has slowed compared to the 20th century.
The increasing interest in longevity has also led to the emergence of specialized clinics and programs, like “Longevity Reset,” offering treatments and techniques aimed at slowing down the aging process.
