Horace B. Deets Lecture Series

Aging: Looking to the Future
MIT AgeLab and The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc.

Living Longer, Living Better
Thomas Perls, M.D.
Richard M. Weinshilboum, M.D.
Daniel Roos, Ph.D.
Joseph Coughlin, Ph.D.
Horace B. Deets

May 7, 2002
10:30am - 12:00pm
MIT Faculty Club
Cambridge, Massachusetts

In this lecture, Thomas Perls, author of Living to 100, discussed the concept of not living longer, but living better. The used the term "Ageing" as an enumeration for the factors associated with healthy aging:

A: Attitude - Centenarians are optimists. Harvard's Mind-Bosy Medical Institute shows that attitude and spirituality are important because they help individuals manage stress well. Managing stress well (not the smount you have, but how you manage it) is important to longevity.

G: Genes - If your parents lived to their 80s or 90s, chances are you will, too. If your parents died in their 60s or 70s but smoked, then its hard to predict. A family history of health problems and short life spans is a sign for you to go to health screenings and catch warning signs early.

E: Exercise - Strength training is mroe important than aerobic training because the #1 reason for frailty is loss of muscle mass. Individuals can regain muscle mass (even at age 90) with strength training. Strength training helps with balance, walking, and decreased depression.

I: Interest - You need a cause that gets you up in the morning. For many, work is an interest, and the older workforce can bring business the benefits of wisdom.

N: Nutrition - Lean body mass correlates with longevity. Antioxidants, selenium, and aspirin can be helpful as well.

G: Get rid of smoking! - Some very dangerous trends today will keep life expectancy low: obesity and smoking. Obesity and smoking carries the risk of heart disease and cancer. People who practice a healthy lifestyle can live a longer, more independent life.

Richard Weinshilboum discussed how genetics influence how individuals respond to medications. Using information from the mapping of the human genome, drug therapy can be individualized to patients persoanl genetic coding.

All members of the panel discussed the misperceptions of aging. Many have the view that aging equal a decline in health and ability. All panelists agree that aging does not always result in disease, that adults can take control of their health by building up both mental and physical reserves to reduce the risk of dementia, chronic disease and prolong independence.