[JohnDenver]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', ' ')Christensen and colleagues said huge increases in life expectancy -- of more than 30 years -- had been seen in most developed countries over the 20th century.

And death rates in nations with the longest life-expectancy, such as Japan, Sweden and Spain, suggest that, even if health conditions do not improve, three-quarters of babies will live to celebrate their 75th birthdays.

"But should life expectancy continue to improve at the same rate, most babies born in rich nations since 2000 can expect to live to 100 years," they wrote.

[Kristen]

Well I don't think that includes the USA. I sure don't feel rich right now. However instead of bringing up resource shortages, war, and many obstacles that could prevent this from happening, I'm going to assume this happens, what do you suppose is next, immortality? If that could be achieved we could overcome the unknown of death.

As for me, I don't think I could handle seventy five more years of serfdom. As cliche as it is, quality over quanity, any day.

[hillsidedigger]

Some of you must be fairly young and have not noticed that within the United States the growing trend of over one quarter of the baby boom generation not living much past the age of 60 years.

I think the atmospheric testing of nuclear bombs from 1945 to 1960 may have a lot to do with this.

Still, the main force involved here are the dietary choices forced upon the baby-boomers by big business over the last few decades.

Those born after 1960 and 1970 will likely have even shorter average life spans.

[Ferretlover]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'H')alf of babies born in rich world will live to 100

[Carlhole]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('JohnDenver', 'P')ersonally, I think they're underestimating the increase in lifespan which will occur in the 21st century. It's pretty clear that we're finally bringing the big guns out onto the field of biology (cloning, genomics, proteonomics, metabolomics, bioinformatics etc.) There will be huge breakthroughs in knowledge in the next few decades. Furthermore, populations are aging -- so medical care is going to become an ever greater part of the economy. I wouldn't be surprised if it was 50% of the economy in a few decades. It's the biorevolution, where you invest in your body instead of your house and your car. Hot-rodding, using your body as the substrate.

[hillsidedigger]

Longer average life expectancies obviously add to the total consumption by a person during their lifetime and add to the total number of people present at a particular time, all other factors equal.

[Novus]

I don't know how they are extrapolating rich world babies living to 100 on but when the USSR collapsed the average life expectancy of Russians dropped by ten years. My prediction is that life expectancy is going to go down not up.

[TreebeardsUncle]

no problem
We have extreme longevity in my family.
My great aunt Ida lived to 103 and my grandma Helen on my mom's side lived to 94 or 95. Had a great grandfather who lived to 91 and a great great grandfather who lived to 94. I am 38 and very healthy and look no older than around 30 and expect to live to at least 107 or so. We have been breading for looks, brains, and longevity on my mom's side for generations.
Figure a good solution to having too many people would be to merge them together, combing brains etc.
Geoff

[Carlhole]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('TreebeardsUncle', ' ')We have been breading (?!?!?!?) for looks, brains, and longevity on my mom's side for generations.
Geoff

[mos6507]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('hillsidedigger', 'S')till, the main force involved here are the dietary choices forced upon the baby-boomers by big business over the last few decades.

[SeaGypsy]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('mos6507', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('hillsidedigger', 'S')till, the main force involved here are the dietary choices forced upon the baby-boomers by big business over the last few decades.

[IgnoranceIsBliss]

Looking around my town, I see young children who are obese, and already have signs of heart disease, diabetes, and kidney stones (from talking to doctor friends).

Not gonna happen for these kids...

Many boomers are only hanging in there thanks to their daily pills. Take away the pills (and the air conditioning) and grandma dies pretty darn quick (and this applies to my parents who are only 65 as well). People over age 60 in the South are a sad sight to behold these days. Many of my parents' friends are beginning to die. I can list at least 5 right off the bat.

[JustaGirl]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('IgnoranceIsBliss', 'L')ooking around my town, I see young children who are obese, and already have signs of heart disease, diabetes, and kidney stones (from talking to doctor friends).

Not gonna happen for these kids...

[WildRose]

I don't see it happening, JD. Medicine does a lot, but look at the leading causes of death right now - heart and lung disease. Diabetes follows closely behind. You'd need to have an absence of smoking in the population and also a sea change in the way people eat, and so far the younger generation
does not seem to be heading in the right direction. Do people in the rich countries exercise more now, or less? If less, do you see that trend changing soon?
It's predicted that deaths from COPD (chronic obstructive lung disease) will rise in next 20 years or so, and the bronchodilators used to treat COPD are suspected of causing more deaths from stroke and heart attack. And what about cancer - sure, we can predict that smokers are more likely to have lung cancer but many healthy people develop cancers that take their lives, and who can say why they developed it? Something they were exposed to, probably, but it's almost impossible to determine what it was in a lot of cases. I've been working in the medical field too long, I guess.

Still, I suppose if a cure for cancer was exposed and used successfully to treat all patients, and the population stamped out cigarettes for good (and alcohol, too, I can't forget that!), and ate wisely and exercised at least moderately a few times a week, it would be fairly likely that half of the population would live to the age of 100.

That's just my opinion, based on what I've observed in my lifetime, so far. Don't mean to be negative, I'm all for people taking care of themselves.

[efarmer]

The investment in humans that live this long will be immense, and with large investments, there usually comes careful management of such investments by a skilled staff or management team.

This means that they will have to hire body doubles, or designated hitters to do all the risky, stupid, crap that humans are drawn to do in the course of a lifetime. This will make for reams of new and very exciting and lucrative jobs for those of us of more modest means.

And then there will be Keith Richards, he will come close a few times a year, but of course will never actually die, or at least nobody will be sure if he is, or not.

And JD? Well JD will live to be 110 in Japan, and he will as usual, be proven largely right in his claims, but all of us racked with worry and the
fear about peak resources and poisoned by eating pickled meat and survival crap rotating out of our doom stashes for decades, will be long gone and won't have to read a bunch of gloating posts.

Death is good for something you know...