Successful Aging

SUCCESSFUL AGING By John W. Rowe, M.D., and Robert L. Kahn, Ph.D.

Part of the MacArthur Foundation Study, an interdisciplinary effort begun in 1987, Successful Aging draws from research in the fields of genetics, neurobiology, psychology, social science, cell biology, and epidemiology. The bottom line--a message both calming and alarming in its simplicity--is that lifestyle is significantly more reliable than heredity as an indicator of longevity. Indeed, only 30 percent of physical aging can be blamed on genes.

According to the MacArthur study, "Of all the human beings who have ever lived past 65, half are currently alive." Behavior that has led to such dramatic increases in longevity has three components: 11 avoiding disease and disability; maintaining high physical and mental function; and continuing to engage actively in life." In Successful Aging, John Rowe and Robert Kahn discuss detection and prevention of health problems--including breast cancer, heart disease, and Syndrome X (a high-blood-sugar condition characterized by the male pot belly)--but they dismiss most of the hyped anti-aging remedies, melatonin and hGH (human growth hormone) among them.

To support its points, the book makes frequent reference to the Swedish National Twin Registry (close to 25,000 sets of same-sex twins born between 1886 and 1958). Since the pool of subjects includes twins separated at birth, MacArthur researchers were able to test nature versus nurture hypotheses. For example, in cases of hypertension, high cholesterol, and lung function, illnesses long-believed to depend heavily on heredity, results indicated that as we grow older our genes play a less important role than our lifestyles. The authors also offer details on the close relationship of physical exercise to mental ability.

At its best, Successful Aging provokes a shift in perspective. Rowe and Kahn question what the medical establishment still considers the inevitable side effects of growing old; they make important distinctions between age-related illness and age-determined illness. The book empowers the elderly, urging them to eat well, exercise their bodies and minds, and stay connected to the world. Or, put less clinically, 16 experts and a decade of study reveal the secret to "the new longevity": Use it or lose it.

Despite their sunny tone (stories about "MacArthur successful agers" recall smiley faces and name tags), the authors remind readers that aging eventually puts Americans in the "roleless role" of retiree. They explore philosophical and social issues tied to this problem--the wisdom attained in later years, the difficulties of participating in one's community, and the need for society to rethink the work environment so that older people's contributions count.

Rowe, a doctor at Mount Sinai Hospital, and Kahn, a professor of psychology and public health at the University of Michigan, liven their report with references to figures as diverse as Betty Friedan (author of Feminine Mystique) and Satchel Paige (the late baseball player whose agelessness mystified many). The writing is clear and jargon-free. And although the few charts provided by the authors seem overly streamlined, the book includes an exhaustive index and helpful bibliographic notes for each chapter.

Successful Aging; Pantheon Books, 1998; 265 pages, hardcover; $24.95

COPYRIGHT 1998 Weider Publications
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning