Are You Ready to Live to 100?

by Aimee Amodio | More from this Blogger

03 Oct 2009 10:43 AM

A new report from the Danish Aging Research Center says that blowing out 100 candles might become old news for kids in developed countries.

Life expectancy has been on the rise for residents of developed countries over the last two hundred years or so. If that trend continues, says researchers from the University of Southern Denmark's Danish Aging Research Center, then hitting your one hundredth birthday could become old hat.

They say that most babies born since 2000 in developed countries like France, Germany, Italy, the U.K., Japan, the U.S., and Canada have a good chance of living to see one hundred.

Right now, the World Health Organization points to Japan as the nation with the longest life expectancy. For children born in Japan in 2007, the life expectancy is eighty-three years. Here in the U.S., the average life expectancy is just under seventy-eight years.

The one thing that might pose the biggest threat to longevity? Obesity. Although life expectancy in developed countries is (and has been) on the rise, obesity (which is also on the rise) may interfere.

With more people living into their triple-digits, the researchers predict that instead of three stages of life -- childhood, adulthood, and old age -- we'll see four. Old age might get divided into a young, still active older population and an older, starting to wind down population. Will the oldest old be healthy? It's hard to tell. There's very little data on health in people over the age of eighty-five, compared to the data we have on life up to eighty-five. But early detection and better treatment of many health issues suggests that the oldest old may continue to be healthy... to age 100 and beyond!

If you're ready to live to one hundred, here are some things to keep in mind:

• Watch your weight. Obesity contributes to a LOT of major health issues.
• Never stop thinking, learning, and having adventures. Exercise your brain as much as your body!
• Stay connected. Friends, family, community, coworkers, and more -- personal connections are a good thing for mental acuity and emotional health.
• Know your body. Early detection of health issues means a better chance at treatment (and maybe a cure).

Learn more about Aimee Amodio

Aimee is a fiction writer... dog lover... music lover...

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