Half of 2009 newborns will live 100 years or more

William Atkins
Saturday, 03 October 2009 18:05

Science - Health

Dr. Kaare Christensen, who led the study, stated in the BBC News article “Half of babies 'will live to 100',” that the increase of life expectancy has been steadily going up since 1840.

The BBC article continues to say, “Data from more than 30 developed countries shows that since 1950 the probability of surviving past 80 years of age has doubled for both sexes.”

The researchers add the comment about living longer lives by saying, “The answer is still open, but research suggests that ageing processes are modifiable and that people are living longer without severe disability."

And, "This finding, together with technological and medical development and redistribution of work, will be important for our chances to meet the challenges of ageing populations.” [Abstract from The Lancet]

Christensen's team predicts that societies will stop looking at life as consisting of three phases -- childhood, adulthood, and old age -- and start dividing "old age" into a "third age (young old)" and a "fourth age (oldest old)."

In the MedicineNet.com article Living to 100 to Become Common?, the authors are quoted to have said, "Very long lives are not the distant privilege of remote future generations -- very long lives are the probable destiny of most people alive now in developed countries."