Life in the Age of Old, Old Age.
Susan Dominus.
- New York Times Magazine, 2004.
- SIRS Enduring Issues 2005. Article 46, Family, 1522-3213; .
Articles Contained in SIRS Enduring Issues 2005. Originally Published: Life in the Age of Old, Old Age, Feb. 22, 2004; pp. 26+.
"There are fewer than 70,000 centenarians in the United States. Over the coming decades, though, researchers expect that figure to jump. Even conservative demographers predict that there will be 10 times the current number of centenarians in 2050, when what remains of the boomers--the generation born between 1946 and 1964, a group representing one-third of the U.S. population--hits old, old age. According to United Nations population projections, close to 1 in 20 American boomers are expected to live to 100, thanks to breakthroughs in treatments for heart disease and cancer, lives relatively free of hard labor and longstanding memberships at the gym. Those centenarians may not even be the most senior members of society, either--the National Institute on Aging predicts that the boomers will be playing bridge with a growing number of people 100 and older, or supercentenarians. Demography, of course, is a game of interpretation....But if American demographers have made one mistake consistently over the past two centuries, it's underestimating the rate at which life expectancy has grown." (NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE) The author considers how "the experience of old, old age, whatever its furthest reach" will change in the coming years.
1522-3213;
Baby boom generation (1946-1964) Centenarians Life expectancy Longevity Older people--Population Parent and adult child