Can human biology allow most of us to become centenarians?

Abstract

Life span is a topic of great interest in science, medicine and among the general public. How long people live has a profound impact on medical costs, intergenerational interactions, and the solvency of age-based entitlement programs around the world. These challenges are already occurring and the magnitude of their impact is, in part, proportional to the fraction of a population that lives the longest. Some demographic forecasts suggest that most babies born since the year 2000 will survive to their 100th birthday. If these forecasts are correct, then there is reason to fear that the financial solvency of even the most prosperous countries are in jeopardy. We argue here that human biology will preclude survival to age 100 for most people. © 2012 The Author. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved.