NEW DELHI, Apr 3: Human lifespans are capable of soaring past the current record of 122 years with people possibly reaching the age of 141, a new study has claimed.
According to a research conducted at the University of Georgia, it is possible men could live to as old as 141 and women could live to over 130.
David McCarthy, who is an assistant professor at the University of Georgia, analysed the mortality of older people in 19 countries and how the increase in mortality rates by age differs between cohorts born in different years.
The research found that for people born in the first part of the 1900s, the rate at which mortality increases with age has actually fallen. This means that the “maximum age at death will increase dramatically in the coming decades as surviving members of these cohorts reach advanced old age.”
Dr McCarthy stated that mortality postponement appears to dominate for those born between 1910 and 1950. The oldest of these cohorts may regularly live to 120 or beyond, he added.
“As these cohorts attain advanced ages in coming decades, longevity records may increase significantly. Our results confirm prior work suggesting that if there is a maximum limit to the human lifespan, we are not yet approaching it,” the report said. Further, the research also stated that because of advances in medicine and the wide availability of nutritious food, it could be possible for people to live to a much older age.
Notably, the oldest person to have ever lived, officially documented, is Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment. She was claimed to be born in 1875 and she lived through world wars, and the Spanish Flu. She put her long life down to a lack of stress. “If you can’t do anything about it, don’t worry about it,” she had said.
(Manas Dasgupta)
