Healthspan

We now have a glimpse of a future which could include the ultimate conquest of frailty, disease and disability that occurs frequently with aging. […] In short, our goal is not just a longer lifespan but an extended "healthspan," helping a greater number of older Americans lead vigorous, more productive lives with less vulnerability to chronic disease.

[M]illions of Americans are currently spending large amounts of time and money on interventions that they hope will increase their "healthspans"—their periods of healthy life.

The evidence is clear. Four life-style factors are linked to a shortened healthspan: (1) eating a poor diet, particularly one high in fat, (2) not getting enough exercise, (3) drinking too much alcohol too often, and (4) smoking. In short, people with these habits become limited and die before their time.

[I]nterest in human biology has actually increased among the general population. This is primarily due to medical discoveries that increase not only lifespan but also healthspan, or the number of years that people live disease free.

The better the care we offer and the more customized it is to the needs of the specific pet, the longer our patients will live and the greater their healthspans will be.

He develops gene therapies through Butterfly Sciences, a small company he founded, and has been testing a therapy on himself that he believes might extend his life span and, crucially, his “healthspan,” the period when he’s in good physical and mental shape.

The lifespans and healthspans of Drosophila reared with WJf, WJDf, GSf, or GSDf were compared with those of Nf-reared Drosophila […] In previous studies, the healthspan of Drosophila was defined at the point at which 50% of the individuals had locomotor ability[…]. Although the healthspan of Nf-reared Drosophila was only 11.9 days, those of GSf-, GSDf-, WJf-, or WJDf-reared Drosophila were extended to 15.6 days (69.6% up), 18.2 days (98.2% up), 15.6 days (69.6% up), or 13.5 days (46.7% up), respectively[…].