Aging Better

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Eighteen years ago, the Journal published an article entitled “Aging, Natural Death, and the Compression of Morbidity,” which has been widely cited and hotly debated ever since.1 The author, James Fries, challenged the assumption that the aging of a population is necessarily accompanied by an increasing amount of disability and functional impairment. At least in the developed societies of the world, improvements in public health, nutrition, and medical care have led to large declines in the numbers of deaths in childhood, youth, and middle age. Most people can now expect to live for a period approaching a full life span. . . .