tal maturity at about age 20, we should expect to live, on average, to
age 120. In our society, the average human animal barely reaches four
times his or her skeletal maturity. But with modern technology, natu-
ral hygiene, and the awareness of chemicals that speed the aging
process, there will soon be hundreds of thousands of people in the
United States over the age of 100. Will you be one of them? And if so,
will you welcome it, considering what your quality of life might be?
While there is a genetic aspect to how long you will live, there also are
many lifestyle factors even more important. How well you care for
yourself from the earliest age has a significant impact on both the
length and quality of your life.
As life expectancy rapidly increases in modern cultures, we’ll
soon have many centenarians. Unfortunately, most people don’t
think they’ll live that long, and many actually hope they won’t.
Others, however, welcome the challenge and excitement of seeing a
fifth-generation descendant graduate from some futuristic high
school, perhaps home-schooled by a certain wise old great-great-
great-grandparent.
But who wants to attend this celebration in a wheelchair,
unaware of where you are, what the name of the descendant is, or
who his or her parents are? If you do happen to live to be 120 years
young, you want to be fully functional. Throughout this book I have
offered information and insight to help you improve and maintain fit-
ness and health, to achieve optimal human performance and to avoid
or postpone disease. It’s no coincidence that all of these concepts also
apply to successful and healthy aging.
The term “successful aging” is not a catchy phrase or new pro-
gram. It’s a very real concept with practical applications for people of
all ages. Scientists note three common paths for people as they age.
“Successful aging” results in a higher quality of life. “Usual aging”
would be considered “average.” “Diseased aging” results in low
quality of life and slow death. Average is unacceptable, and diseased
is no way to live or to die. The better you age, the higher your quali-
ty of life, the more productive you are throughout life, and the less
likely you will die a slow death.
The younger you are, the more you can do to control how well
you age. The older you are, the more you want to control aging.
AGING GRACEFULLY • 349