The new longevity: a profound, inevitable and ignored change

A high percentage of babies born today will live to be 100 years old. According to data from the Pew Research Center, in 2050 there will be 3.7 million centenarians in the world. This extended longevity will necessarily have profound implications in multiple aspects of our society, especially in the field of health and care, which constitutes a great challenge to which, according to experts, most countries are not paying the attention they should. demand.

Life expectancy in Spain has experienced a great increase in recent years. According to data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE), in 2022 the age of Spanish women will reach 85.74 years, and that of men will reach 80.36. This is especially striking if we compare it with the figures from 2000, these values ​​were 82.73 and 75.9 respectively; and in 1960, at 71.66 and 66.68 years.

Traditionally, old age has been associated with something negative: with withdrawal from society, with fragility, with the end of life. In contrast to this meaning, sociologist Irene Lebrusán proposes the term ‘longevity’, which distances us from this erroneous negative connotation, as she explained in the seminar ‘The new longevity’, organized by the Social Observatory of the ‘la Caixa’ Foundation. ‘ in the Cap Roig Gardens on April 15 and 16. Doctors, economists and sociologists brought to the table a multidisciplinary vision of this issue not to seek answers, but to find the right questions and understand the transition towards longevity in fields such as health, care, economy, work, education. , identity or relationships.

George Leeson, associate professor at the Institute of Population Aging at the University of Oxford and visiting professor of Demography at the University of Guanajuato-León (Mexico), highlighted several data regarding population growth, such as that a third of babies born today in the UK will live to be 100 years old. For Leeson, the 21st century will undoubtedly be the century of centenaries. Despite this, the professor expressed his concern because governments are being quite slow when it comes to adapting to these changes and their implications.

Professor Adelina Comas, economist and researcher at the London School of Economics and Political Science, and director of the Global Long-Term Care Observatory (Goltc), added that in the coming years the demand for care services will increase considerably. «The main challenge is that in almost all countries in the world we have not yet come to terms with the idea that this is happening and its consequences. “Those who are designing appropriate policies are the exception,” she remarked.