How ‘longevity’ became the new buzzword in health

AT A time when many of us might feel powerless to influence world events, perhaps it’s not surprising that our society is trying ever harder to exercise the ultimate form of personal control: over our own mortality. The desire for a long – even eternal – life is nothing new (China’s first emperor and creator of the Terracotta Army, Qin Shi Huang, ordered subjects to search for the elixir of everlasting life). Now, however, this impulse is coalescing around one particular buzzword: longevity.

It’s a timely topic, given that between 2015 and 2050, the proportion of the world’s population over 60 years will nearly double from 12 per cent to 22 per cent, according to the World Health Organization. But beyond its most basic definition, the word “longevity” has acquired myriad new associations. Now, established ways to improve your chances of living longer – such as giving up smoking, exercising more, not getting lonely – aren’t as attention-grabbing as commercialised, often competitive, approaches to extending your life.

Many approaches are constructive, such as that of Andrew J Scott, professor of economics at London Business School and author of The Longevity Imperative, who focuses on “healthy longevity”, and posits that there are other markers of ageing beyond chronological age.