How to age wisely

The Longevity Imperative

Author: Andrew J Scott

Publisher: Basic Books

Pages: 336

Price: Rs 799

When I turned 39 last month, an acquaintance sent me a warm birthday wish conveying his excitement about welcoming me into the fourth decade of my life next year. I was touched by the sincerity and amused by the fact that, until recently, people often spoke of the forties as a dreadful period when one is hit by a mid-life crisis and is compelled to assess self-worth. It seems that there is a shift towards viewing one’s later years as ripe with new possibilities.
 

“Today, our lives are extending to lengths our ancestors would never have imagined. That creates a twofold challenge — how should we live those additional years, and how should we behave in the decades before them?” asks Andrew J Scott, a professor of economics at the London Business School in his new book The Longevity Imperative: Building a Better Society for Healthier, Longer Lives. These questions have practical and philosophical dimensions, and the author does a marvellous job of examining them with precision and care. 
 

Professor Scott has been contem­plating these questions as the co-founder of The Longevity Forum, a member of the World Economic Forum’s Council on Healthy Ageing and Longevity, and a consulting scholar at Stanford University’s Centre on Longevity.
 

In this book, he addresses what individuals need to think hard about as they grow older — “exercise, sleep, stress, and nutrition” — because dementia, cancer, diabetes, arthritis, pulmonary diseases, and cardiac illnesses pose significant threats to their well-being. While he acknowledges that watching one’s weight, restricting one’s alcohol intake, and exercising regularly require “effort and sacrifice”, he invites readers to consider why this is worth it.
 

Professor Scott writes, “The longer we maintain our health, our productivity and our sense of engagement the more options we have when we get older and the more we value longer lives…With the prospect of more years ahead, we can do things differently today.” Instead of scaring readers or guilt-tripping them, he uses an encouraging and empowering tone to catalyse behavioural changes. He gets readers to think about how they would like to age, and what ageing better looks like. This shows them that they are decision makers, and not victims.
 

“Keeping an eye on your health is crucial in an evergreen world,” he remarks, emphasising the importance of preventive measures such as going for annual health check-ups, checking for lumps, avoiding highly processed foods, limiting the intake of red meat, maintaining gut health with a range of bacteria, and monitoring one’s blood pressure, pulse and sugar levels. He also talks about financial planning and learning new skills because the fear of running out of money often becomes acute as people grow older and worry about the lack of a safety net.
 

This is certainly a lot of work, and it would be incorrect to conclude that people who are unable to commit to all of these lifestyle changes are plain lazy or careless. The author is aware of how inequality plays a role in what individuals are able to do to stay healthy. He writes, “Not everyone has the time to sleep longer or cook healthy meals; nor the money to sign up for a gym.” This is where public health comes in, and governments need to step up.
 

Professor Scott adds, “How we age is affected by everything from the built environment to the nature of work, public transport, loneliness, what we eat, financial security, ageism, education, design, water, sanitation, and much more.” According to him, public health initiatives ought to zero in on six areas that have a substantial negative impact on health and life expectancy — smoking, alcohol, air pollution, social isolation, lack of physical activity, and obesity.
 

The book does not engage much with how gender determines access to public health but there is a short section on menopause where the author states: “Given the central importance of health to longevity, it is striking how little attention is given to menopause in an ageing society.” Apart from the risks of diabetes and osteoporosis, there are economic concerns. He writes: “A variety of symptoms combine to disrupt working and family life and lead to withdrawal from the labour market with all the financial implications that entails.”
 

On the bright side, the book has useful tips for workplaces, especially around building intergenerational teams that use age diversity as a strength, and strike a balance between expertise and innovation. It also reminds readers that “good relationships are key not just in promoting happiness but in dealing with the uneven, unpredictable nature of life”. This is a sobering thought in a world where people have the technological means for instant communication but are perennially busy so they make little time to nurture relationships.

The reviewer is  a journalist and educator who is @chintanwriting on Instagram and X