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Episode 3 - Lifespan vs Healthspan
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I remember when I was a kid back in the 1980s there was this magazine called Omni. It was a science magazine published in the US, but available on newsstands here in Australia. On almost every cover there’d be some reference to how people would live in the future. There’d usually be articles about longevity, cryopreservation, elixirs (or drugs) of youth, and futurism. I seem to recall that there was never any mention of future Type 2 diabetes, obesity epidemics or botox. There were often claims that researchers were only 10 years off from an immortality pill. That in the future there would be no death. That no one would die of cancer in the 21st century. That future society would be some kind of pre-forbidden fruit Garden of Eden, with humanity living in perfect harmony with each other and our planet.
Fast forward to today and the obsession with youth - and maintaining it - continues. There are daily articles about how amazing exercise is at any age (who would have thought?), but also about the latest research for an exercise pill. Yep, that’s right, a single pill that is able to provoke the very same metabolic processes in our body that exercise does, all while sitting on the couch. The cosmetic surgery epidemic is now in full swing and accessible to all . We don’t think twice about injecting botulinum toxin into our skin, even when we are still in our 20s. We have certain cohorts of the population who are already considered to be of healthy weight insisting on prescriptions for semaglutides, just to get that more magnified look of thinness. Nor do we concern ourselves with potential side effects from disfiguring and invasive surgery to tighten, or ‘lift’ our facial skin. We continue to dabble with body modification surgery to our genitals, our trunks, our bottoms and our legs, all in the name of ‘maintaining’..? What? Youth? Beauty? Self-esteem?
Contact email address: [email protected]
Further reading:
Jackson Fyfe linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackson-fyfe-5a3a1410b/
The Weekly Exerciser: https://jacksonfyfe.kit.com/the-weekly-exerciser
Burden of Ageing Population data
Australia: https://www.aph.gov.au/-/media/05_About_Parliament/54_Parliamentary_Depts/548_Parliamentary_Budget_Office/Reports/2018-19/02_2019_Australias_ageing_population/Australias_Ageing_Population_PDF.pdf?la=en&hash=97A05620F5D6DE87D021938A844A65BFC4B335A6#:~:text=Over%20the%20next%20decade%2C%20the,%2436%20billion%20by%202028%E2%80%9329.
USA: https://www.nia.nih.gov/about/aging-strategic-directions-research/goal-society-policy
https://www.census.gov/topics/population/older-aging.html
Europe: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Ageing_Europe_-_statistics_on_population_developments
Japan: https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/fandd/issues/2020/03/shrinkanomics-policy-lessons-from-japan-on-population-aging-schneid
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By Matt CooperSend us a text
I remember when I was a kid back in the 1980s there was this magazine called Omni. It was a science magazine published in the US, but available on newsstands here in Australia. On almost every cover there’d be some reference to how people would live in the future. There’d usually be articles about longevity, cryopreservation, elixirs (or drugs) of youth, and futurism. I seem to recall that there was never any mention of future Type 2 diabetes, obesity epidemics or botox. There were often claims that researchers were only 10 years off from an immortality pill. That in the future there would be no death. That no one would die of cancer in the 21st century. That future society would be some kind of pre-forbidden fruit Garden of Eden, with humanity living in perfect harmony with each other and our planet.
Fast forward to today and the obsession with youth - and maintaining it - continues. There are daily articles about how amazing exercise is at any age (who would have thought?), but also about the latest research for an exercise pill. Yep, that’s right, a single pill that is able to provoke the very same metabolic processes in our body that exercise does, all while sitting on the couch. The cosmetic surgery epidemic is now in full swing and accessible to all . We don’t think twice about injecting botulinum toxin into our skin, even when we are still in our 20s. We have certain cohorts of the population who are already considered to be of healthy weight insisting on prescriptions for semaglutides, just to get that more magnified look of thinness. Nor do we concern ourselves with potential side effects from disfiguring and invasive surgery to tighten, or ‘lift’ our facial skin. We continue to dabble with body modification surgery to our genitals, our trunks, our bottoms and our legs, all in the name of ‘maintaining’..? What? Youth? Beauty? Self-esteem?
Contact email address: [email protected]
Further reading:
Jackson Fyfe linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackson-fyfe-5a3a1410b/
The Weekly Exerciser: https://jacksonfyfe.kit.com/the-weekly-exerciser
Burden of Ageing Population data
Australia: https://www.aph.gov.au/-/media/05_About_Parliament/54_Parliamentary_Depts/548_Parliamentary_Budget_Office/Reports/2018-19/02_2019_Australias_ageing_population/Australias_Ageing_Population_PDF.pdf?la=en&hash=97A05620F5D6DE87D021938A844A65BFC4B335A6#:~:text=Over%20the%20next%20decade%2C%20the,%2436%20billion%20by%202028%E2%80%9329.
USA: https://www.nia.nih.gov/about/aging-strategic-directions-research/goal-society-policy
https://www.census.gov/topics/population/older-aging.html
Europe: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Ageing_Europe_-_statistics_on_population_developments
Japan: https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/fandd/issues/2020/03/shrinkanomics-policy-lessons-from-japan-on-population-aging-schneid