Zoomer Nation

Which Came First: the Age-Proof Chicken or the Age-Proof Egg?

2010-06-24T16:15:00.000-04:00

There are over 50,000 documented cases of people living well beyond 100 years in good health.

The longest lived human on record, stopped smoking at age 100, stopped riding her bike at 110 years, lived independently until age 118, and died at age 122.

So, how best can the aging process be understood? Must scientists study long-lived people in order to determine their commonalities, i.e. the reasons why people live long?

On the other hand, must scientists study specific late-life diseases in order to create remedies that slow the aging process by eradicating late-life diseases?

If you answered, "Both" then you are correct. Scientists call the dual approach to aging as "top down" (study long-lived people) and "bottom up" (identify ways to prevent or delay disease).

Top-Down uses deductive reasoning (studying the big picture), and Bottom-Up uses inductive reasoning (study specific disease and find remedies).

Each approach has proponents and detractors. But it's not a question of which is valid, qualitative or quantitative research methods. It's a matter of how one wishes to think about a problem.

For example, when working on a jig-saw puzzle, do you focus first on the puzzle pieces that will create a "frame of reference" (the corners and sides of the puzzle's picture). Or, do you focus first on connecting groups of pieces that appear to be related to specific objectives that are components of the puzzle's picture?

Here's a chronology of events Brandon Keim (PROTO magazine) describes as leading up to the Top-Down, Bottom-Up crossroad in aging theory today.

STEPS TOWARD THE CROSSROAD
- Reduced caloric diet, exercise and drugs are found to slow the aging process.
- Further study finds anti-aging benefits of diet, exercise, drugs are not universal.
- Science focuses on molecular aging, free radical oxidation and DNA damage.
- Discover late-life disease may be the cause, not the result of aging process.
- Discover genes that produce life-enhancing enzymes that fight disease.
- Isolate enzymes fostering healthy heart, strong bones, cataract-free eyes, and prevention of diabetes.

Here's the proverbial Good News. Whether or not the mystery of human aging is unlocked from either the top-down, bottom-up, or both, Boomers will be overjoyed by the results of living longer, healthier, more productive lives. In the future, expect more and more Boomers to evolve into ZOOMERS as they adopt proven lifestyle and genetic strategies for better living.

Here's the Bad News. What is the purpose of pro-longevity in the first place? Isn't it more important to focus on improving the quality of life, especially for those who fall victim to "short-gevity" (International Longevity Center, 2009). Ethically, is the first priority to help all members of society achieve society's average life-expectancy, say 80 years? Is such an achievement a right or a privilege?
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Source: "Is Aging a Disease?" by Brandon Keim, PROTO, Spring 2010, Mass Gen Hospital.
Source: "Zoomer Boomer: stop acting your age, start living your life" by David Demko, 2009, AgeVenture Press.

Are You a Boomer or ZOOMER ?

2009-12-21T15:24:00.002-05:00

There's a totally new pop culture within the Boomer Generation. Boomers who stand apart from the crowd, says gerontologist, Professor David J. Demko, PhD, creator of ZOOMER media (1998).

These new boomers are coloring outside the lines, zigzagging and zooming toward a bright new horizon chock-full of possibilities for reinventing retirement and redefining what it means to be a mature adult in the new millennium.

Are you a BOOMER?
You are if your birthday falls between 1946 and 1964. That birth period defines you as a member of the post-world-war-II baby boom generation. However, birth dates alone don't tell you much about how a person thinks or acts.

Not all Boomers think and act the same. Some Boomers are breaking new ground, re-defining aging and re-inventing retirement. The year 2008 marks the first decade of the ZOOMER generation, a demographic term I coined back in 1998 to define this trend-setting group of Boomers.

Are you a ZOOMER?
The answer is "yes", if your lifestyle includes these ZOOMERtm traits.
A ZOOMER is a baby boomer who also:

• knows the difference between primary (inevitable) and secondary (reversible) aging
• exercises: aerobics (endurance), anaerobics (strength), neurobics (brain power).
• adheres to daily nutritional and caloric needs based on age, gender, and weight.
• orchestrates a support system of companions, close friends, and a confidante.
• enjoys a positive self-concept, and a passion for living life to the fullest.
• engages in sound retirement planning necessary to live an AgeVenturous (full) life.
• serves as a role model for age-peers by serving and advocating for those in need.

Adopting these ZOOMER lifestyle traits can and does deliver substantial benefits of a longer, healthier, and more adventurous life.

Read the results of Dr. Demko's research (1998-2008) that created the ZOOMER brand, and learn how to get healthy, keep active, and stay younger longer. ZOOMER BOOMER (AgeVenture Press, 2009) is available at AMAZON.COM.

Anti-aging: what's healthy, what's just hype

2009-08-18T10:03:00.004-04:00

95% of anti-aging products lack FDA approval. AgeVenture News reports on trends in longevity research. Learn what's healthy and what's just hype. http://AgeVentureNewsService.com

Longevity Personality Traits

2009-08-18T10:00:00.003-04:00

Do you know the traits that improve your chances of living a healthy, active 100 years? http://www.demko.com/zoomers.htm

Celeb Lifestyles: fast, furious, and sometimes fatal

2009-08-18T09:56:00.003-04:00

Celeb lifestyles are fast, furious, and often fatal. When will your favorite rock star meet his maker? See the life-expectancy predictions at: http://www.demko.com/blender.htm

Welcome to ZOOMER (tm) Nation

2009-06-28T20:46:00.012-04:00

Is Longevity for Losers

2009-06-08T09:57:00.004-04:00

"The perpetual pursuit of a longer and longer life-expectancy may be a meaningless goal," says Dr. David J. Demko, PhD.

Time's Up! ... pencils down ... hand-in your test ... it's over.
Bring back any memories of that empty feeling in your school-kid gut ?
The feeling that prompted the anguished whisper to yourself ... "But, I'm not done yet".

That's how death feels. And that's why many people fear it.

Fear can drive us to great lengths in order to delay the inevitable ... the "it's over" part. The pursuit of longevity is one way to delay the inevitable. Like a condemned prisoner ordering his last meal ... a five course "Martha Stewart extravaganza" meal with all the trimmings. It won't change the condemned man's fate ... but it will delay (provide extended time before) the inevitable.

Longevity is a term meaning an extended life. But, extended our life time in order to do what? More years of the same kind of existence ... a re-run, so to speak. Should society's health resources be frittered away on providing people with a "re-run" of an insignificant life?

On the other hand, an extended life can provide more time for a "do-over" life. A chance to finally get it right? A chance to use our God-given talents for something more than personal gain. Yes, the pursuit of longevity can be a noble goal, if there is some greater purpose other than just extending our life by a few more years.

Here's the point. America's pursuit of longevity is a head-long, high-gear, all-systems-go enterprise. We've got the process (the science) of longevity down to a "T". But, what is the goal of longevity? Where are we headed? What is the reason for it? Also, is longevity an entitlement or a privilege (buy it if you like, but don't expect society to pay for the privilege).

For those unfamiliar with the science of gerontology (the study of aging) let me summarize the key terms in this great debate. Life-span, life-expectancy, and longevity are not contradictory terms, but neither does each term have a common meaning.

life-span refers to the maximum number of years possible for a human to live.
The current estimate is 120 years, but some argue much longer, 800 years to infinite lives.

life-expectancy refers to the number of years a human can expect to live.
The average life-expectancy in the U.S. is 77 years.

longevity refers to "closing the gap" between life-span and life-expectancy.
For example, how can science increase life-expectancy (77 years) to equal life-span (120 years)?

Longevity (making life-expectancy equal life-span) will become a reality. The progress of anti-aging science virtually guarantees it. Each day brings new revelations about how our aging clock can be slowed down by the latest anti-aging miracle. We're headed for a destination of unknown impact and consequence. A destination whose goal, purpose, and meaning escapes us.

Is longevity for losers? Yes, if the extension of time is solely for the purpose of delaying the inevitable, death. That's because the commodity of any commodity, in this case "time", increases as its supply decreases. What would you do if you had only six months to live? The quality (value) of your life would increase dramatically.

Maybe there is a value to extended life. But, so far mankind has not discovered the value. Until we do, the purpose of an extended life is merely to delay the inevitable. "If people lived for ever, they would take forever to get anything done."

As long as the value and meaning of extended life continues to elude us, longevity is for losers. And the biggest loser is a society that spends limitless resources in pursuit of a goal that as yet has no meaning, value, or purpose.