Babies born today stand a good chance of living to be 100 years old. That is, if they are able to dodge the unexpected truck or overcome the unexpected illness.
Their chances of living that long also will be enhanced if others in their family live long, healthy lives.
That was the conclusion of Danish researchers, who reported this fall that medical advances and lifestyle changes are causing the life expectancy in the United States and Western Europe to stretch. Today’s babies are likely to become tomorrow’s centenarians.
Ruth Strom of Bakersfield, Calif., and her daughter, Betty Jones, hope these babies will prepare themselves for the challenges of old age. They hope these babies will be able to afford to live those 100 years.
Ruth celebrated her 100th birthday in August. She says she never expected to live that long. But she should have. Her mother, a Minnesota farmer’s wife from tough Norwegian stock, lived to be 101 years old. And with the exception of family members who smoked, Ruth’s brother and sisters have lived into their late 80s and 90s.
Betty, who retired a few years ago as a Bakersfield elementary school teacher, looks after her mother, who lives in a spacious northwest Bakersfield house she shares with five elderly women. Ruth’s rent, assisted care and other expenses are eating away at her savings and pension. Ruth is fortunate. Her health is good, requiring little outlay for medicines, and she has lived conservatively, keeping money worries to a minimum.
But Betty, who is on the leading edge of the tsunami of baby boomers heading into retirement, worries that many in her generation and those younger have no clue what old age will cost and who will pay for it.
“It’s a big challenge. People need to be better prepared. They need to start putting money away for their retirements,” said Betty, who receives a teacher’s pension. Her husband, Trent, retired about five years ago, after selling his family’s plumbing company, Gundlach’s.
The MacArthur Research Network on an Aging Society this month released a report contending the U.S. Census Bureau and Social Security Administration have grossly underestimated the average lifespan of Americans.
For decades, the agencies’ life expectancy predictions have been reasonably accurate. The life expectancy of a man born in 1900 has gone from 60 years old to 74 years old for a male child born in 2005. But government analysts predicted the returns on medical advances would taper off, rather than continuing to add years to Americans’ lives at an astronomical pace.
MacArthur researchers and those at the Danish Aging Research Center disagree. Medical research is on the cutting edge of attacking even more diseases, they noted. And while the “fountain of youth” remains elusive, anti-aging research has increased.
Just this month, for example, the Buck Institute for Age in Novato, Calif., received a nearly $1.6 million grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine to focus on stem cell research to develop treatment for illnesses, such as Alzheimer’s disease.
Like their Danish counterparts, MacArthur researchers predict Americans are going to live from three to eight years longer than expected by 2050. While that may not seem to be a lot longer, it likely will cost government agencies and families trillions of dollars more to provide services for aging Americans.
“The economic implications for the U.S. economy are huge,” said S. Jay Olshansky, the study’s co-author, who estimated by 2050 the U.S. will be spending $3.2 trillion to $8.3 trillion more in today’s dollars than currently projected.
And by the middle of the next decade, those over 60 will outnumber those under age 15. This explosion of the elderly means new methods of transportation, medical care, living arrangements and retirement planning must be developed.
Healthy lifestyles and medical advances are a double-edged sword. While these trends are helping Americans live longer, they also are helping them live better – maintaining their quality of life, while containing the cost of providing services.
Researchers look to people, such as Ruth Strom, to help us travel the path to longer living. They contend centenarians share common traits that can become guide points for the rest of us. These include: having a family history of long life; adapting to life’s setbacks; being self-sufficient; engaging in intellectual activity; having a sense of humor; holding religious beliefs; connecting to other people; keeping blood pressure low; not smoking or drinking heavily; playing musical instruments; enjoying simple pleasures; controlling diet; exercising regularly; having a positive attitude; and looking young.
During a recent interview, Ruth discussed these traits:
Self-sufficiency – “I am sure of my decisions. I am confident something is what I want to do. I am practical and have common sense.”
Sense of humor – “I can surely catch a joke,” she said with a big grin and laugh.
Simple pleasures – “I loved working in the yard and homey things.”
Low blood pressure – “I have no physical problems. I have been very healthy.”
Smoking – “I never smoked,” she said, admitting that she tried it and didn’t like it.
Drinking – “No, I tasted it. The whole family doesn’t drink.”
Music – “I played piano, but not very well.” When she lived in Arroyo Grande, before moving to Bakersfield to be near her daughter, she and her sisters formed a singing group. “I like to sing. If there is a singing group going on, I like to be in it.”
Diet – “I fight it all the time. I seem to be always on a diet.”
Self-esteem – Betty, who called her mother humble, said Ruth usually put other people first. “We did not approve of bragging,” Ruth added.
Exercise – Before moving to Bakersfield, she and her sisters would walk together every day.
Intellectual activity – Ruth was a teacher in Minnesota, before marrying a farmer. The couple later moved to Ventura and she became Grover Beach’s part-time librarian. An avid bridge player, Ruth’s favorite topics of conversation are the news and religion.
Young looking – After studying about 2,000 people aged 70 and older over several years, Danish researchers concluded people who look younger seem to live longer. Ruth looks 10, maybe 20 years younger than her 100 years. Betty credits her mother’s youthful appearance to her daily application of Pond’s cream.
Religion – Religion and family have been central to Ruth’s life. She belongs to the First Presbyterian Church in Bakersfield.
Amazed she is alive and well at 100 years old, Ruth observed, “I’m sure glad to be alive.” But she added when God is ready to take her, she will be glad of that, too.
A version of this story written by Dianne Hardisty appeared first in The Bakersfield Californian on Dec. 27, 2009.
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