The Stanford Center on Longevity marked its 10th anniversary with the launch of the Sightlines project. The initiative is intended to redefine how people can live healthier lives.
The Sightlines project started about a year ago with a study on how Americans are preparing themselves for longer lifespans. Tamara Sims a researcher at the center, said in an interview with Stanford News that people are living longer than before but that the human race is not prepared. Sims added that the point of the Center on Longevity is to prepare Americans to live happier lives as they grow older.
The study got its data from eight nationally representative surveys across six age groups. It showed that the biggest negative change in the lifestyle of Americans over the years is the decrease of financial stability.
Millennials, who are aged 25 to 54 years old, have an average debt which is five times higher than the debt of people in the same age group 15 years ago. The social interaction of baby boomers is also on the decline and they are less likely to be married or to participate in religious and community activities.
There are also some positive lifestyle changes. It was found that Americans today are more careful about their health. They have regular exercise more and smoking has been on a steady decline across every age group.
The team in-charge of the Sightlines project has launched an interactive website that has visualizations of the data from its study conducted last year. The website provides an in-depth look at the changes happening within the American population.
Sims noted that the website was created to present the study. More than that, though, the team wants people to have a discussion about the possibility of living over 100 years old and how to prepare for that.
It was clarified that the Center on Longevity focuses on longevity and not on old age because it aspires to build a world where people thrive in old age. The requirement for this is to pay attention on the entire lifespan of the human race.
