Date: Friday, 2/17/17
Time: 12:30-1:30 PM PT
Location: 120 Communications Building

It is likely that increases in life expectancy at older ages will continue but life expectancy at birth is unlikely to reach very high levels unless there is a fundamental change in our ability to delay the aging process. We have yet to experience much compression of morbidity as the age of onset of most health problems has not increased markedly. In recent decades, there have been some reductions in the prevalence of physical disability and dementia. At the same time, the prevalence of disease has increased markedly, in large part due to treatment which extends life for those with disease. Compressing morbidity or increasing the relative healthspan will require “delaying aging” or delaying the physiological change that results in disease and disability. Significant improvement in health and increases in life expectancy in the United States could be achieved with behavioral, life style and policy changes that reduce socioeconomic disparities and allow us to reach the levels of health and life expectancy achieved in peer societies.