Expert: There Is No Upper Limit On
How Long Humans Can Live
By Grace Wiltbank
Contributing Writer
Is there an upper limit to how long human beings can live?
“No!” insists Dr. James Vaupel, founding director of the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research and featured speaker at the recent Vincent Cristofalo Annual Lecture sponsored by the University of Pennsylvania’s Institute on Aging.
Dr. Vaupel, who is considered the “rock star of biodemography” (the study of how and why humans are living longer and longer) is convinced there is no upper limit to human longevity because population studies have shown a relentless upward curve (at least in developed countries) since 1840. The years after 1840 saw a “life expectancy revolution” as modern medicine and hygiene came into being. Infant mortality began to plummet and people stopped dying from diseases caused by filth.
“Aristotle said nothing can be done about dying” but modern science is proving him wrong, according to Dr. Vaupel, a cheerful optimistic man who seems delighted that human kind may someday discover the means to live forever.
He noted that human beings are adding “two and a half years of life per decade, three months per year and six hours per day.” Life expectancy is “going up in a straight line,” he said, to the point where the world not only boasts a sizeable population of centenarians but a goodly number of “supercentenarians” (people 110 and older).
Death rates, he said, are coming down in many parts of the world, including the United States, Western Europe and Japan. “There’s no sign we’re approaching a limit,” he insisted.
Not long ago, Dr. Vaupel said, bad health was common in people 70 to 80. Now, he said, bad health now commonly strikes people between 80 and 90.
The factors involved in longevity, Dr. Vaupel said, are 25% genetic, 10% childhood environment and 65% adult lifestyle.
“The most important factor is what you’re doing today,” Dr. Vaupel said. “It’s never too late to change.”
However, he acknowledged, that two factors crucial to a long life are money (an adequate income) and good medical care.
“If you want to live a few years longer,” he added, “Listen to your mother: don’t smoke, don’t drink, eat a balanced diet and wear a coat when it’s cold.”
Dr. Vaupel said obesity certainly can shorten your life but the biggest obstacle to longevity is smoking.
He insisted efforts to extend old age are worthwhile because “if you save lives, you’re also doing things to keep healthy people from becoming sick.” He noted that women live longer than men but “most of that extra life is unhealthy — we need to learn how to save the lives of men and improve the health of women.”
As more and more people live to a very old age, Dr. Vaupel said, “we also must change our work practices. More and more elderly people will have to work.”
He said our present work system is illogical in any event. Society requires young people to work when they should be home caring for their children. It would make a lot more sense, he said, for young people to be retired during child-rearing years while older people who have raised their children pick up the slack.
Asked to define “who is older,” Dr. Vaupel said, “you join the ‘older crowd’ when your chance of death reaches 100 percent.”
How Long Humans Can Live
By Grace Wiltbank
Contributing Writer
Is there an upper limit to how long human beings can live?
“No!” insists Dr. James Vaupel, founding director of the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research and featured speaker at the recent Vincent Cristofalo Annual Lecture sponsored by the University of Pennsylvania’s Institute on Aging.
Dr. Vaupel, who is considered the “rock star of biodemography” (the study of how and why humans are living longer and longer) is convinced there is no upper limit to human longevity because population studies have shown a relentless upward curve (at least in developed countries) since 1840. The years after 1840 saw a “life expectancy revolution” as modern medicine and hygiene came into being. Infant mortality began to plummet and people stopped dying from diseases caused by filth.
“Aristotle said nothing can be done about dying” but modern science is proving him wrong, according to Dr. Vaupel, a cheerful optimistic man who seems delighted that human kind may someday discover the means to live forever.
He noted that human beings are adding “two and a half years of life per decade, three months per year and six hours per day.” Life expectancy is “going up in a straight line,” he said, to the point where the world not only boasts a sizeable population of centenarians but a goodly number of “supercentenarians” (people 110 and older).
Death rates, he said, are coming down in many parts of the world, including the United States, Western Europe and Japan. “There’s no sign we’re approaching a limit,” he insisted.
Not long ago, Dr. Vaupel said, bad health was common in people 70 to 80. Now, he said, bad health now commonly strikes people between 80 and 90.
The factors involved in longevity, Dr. Vaupel said, are 25% genetic, 10% childhood environment and 65% adult lifestyle.
“The most important factor is what you’re doing today,” Dr. Vaupel said. “It’s never too late to change.”
However, he acknowledged, that two factors crucial to a long life are money (an adequate income) and good medical care.
“If you want to live a few years longer,” he added, “Listen to your mother: don’t smoke, don’t drink, eat a balanced diet and wear a coat when it’s cold.”
Dr. Vaupel said obesity certainly can shorten your life but the biggest obstacle to longevity is smoking.
He insisted efforts to extend old age are worthwhile because “if you save lives, you’re also doing things to keep healthy people from becoming sick.” He noted that women live longer than men but “most of that extra life is unhealthy — we need to learn how to save the lives of men and improve the health of women.”
As more and more people live to a very old age, Dr. Vaupel said, “we also must change our work practices. More and more elderly people will have to work.”
He said our present work system is illogical in any event. Society requires young people to work when they should be home caring for their children. It would make a lot more sense, he said, for young people to be retired during child-rearing years while older people who have raised their children pick up the slack.
Asked to define “who is older,” Dr. Vaupel said, “you join the ‘older crowd’ when your chance of death reaches 100 percent.”
