Two powerful forces are building that will transform every aspect of life as we know it. Throughout 99 percent of all time humans have walked this planet, average life expectancy was under 18 years. We have never before had a mass population of older people. During this past century something tsunamic has begun. As a result of dramatic advances in sanitation, public health, food science, pharmicology, surgery, medicine and, lately, wellness-oriented lifestyle management, most of us will age.
Maturity is about to undergo a revolution like nothing the world has ever seen.
As we envision these two forces colliding, it would be comforting to be able to assume that our society is prepared and that everything will be fine down the road. What follows is an attempt to characterize the 10 physical, social, spiritual, economic and political crises we will face as we age in the 21st century. We are heading toward a future in which chronic disease, frailty and a variety of long-term health problems will be pervasive. If there is going to be a healthy old age for our generation and our children's, we have got to make several dramatic changes in our approach to healthcare. First, we must substantially upgrade the amount of support directed toward producing scientific breakthroughs that could eliminate or mitigate the diseases of aging.