Study Finds Living To Be 100 Isn't A Major Goal For Average American; Reaching 91 Is Enough

Jet, June 14, 1999

Everybody wants to live to 100, right? Not according to a new survey. It found that Americans, on average, would rather call it quits at 91.

Indeed, only about one in four Americans hopes to reach the 100-year milestone, according to a survey conducted for the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP).

The findings left a leading researcher on centenarians-folks who are at least 100 years old-scratching his head.

"I was struck by the low number of people who want to live to be 100," said Dr. Thomas Perls of Harvard Medical School. "The vast majority of us have incredible genes to get to our mid to late 80s and we can compress the time that we're sick to the very end of our lives."

Perls speculated that people may not want to live to 100 because they aren't preparing well for old age. People have poor diets and exercise habits and are living about 10 years less than "our average set of genes would allow us to do," he said.

Official calculations in recent years for the life expectancy of newborn babies were just over 73 for males and just over 79 for females, said Richard Suzman, a researcher at the National Institute on Aging. For those who live to age 65, men on average live an additional 15 to 16 years and women an additional 19, he said. Some demographers place life expectancies for those born today even higher.

The reasons most often given for not wanting to live to 100 were worries about declining health, mentioned by 46 percent, and concerns about not having enough money to support themselves, 38 percent.

While 63 percent said they didn't want to live to be 100, just over a fourth, 27 percent, said they did want to reach that age. Ten percent either didn't answer or said they don't know how long they want to live. The respondents said they would prefer to live to about 91, on average.

Those polled were optimistic about medical advances. About three-four-ths think there will be cures for cancer, AIDS and Alzheimer's disease over the next 50 years, and about two-thirds think there will be a cure for heart disease.

Other concerns about aging mentioned by those surveyed were the possibility of losing mental faculties, increasing dependence on others, being isolated or alone and living in a nursing home.

Positive features of living to old age were having more time to spend with family and friends, not having to work after retirement and having time for hobbies and for personal or spiritual growth.

The respondents, on average, thought that a person is considered "old" when they reach age 69. Young adults between 18 and 24 thought old age started at age 58, and those 55 or older say that someone 74 or older is considered "old."