New Film The Healthspan Imperative Draws Awareness to the Aging of the American Population

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Photo courtesy of UCSF

By USDR

The Alliance for Aging Research and the Healthspan Campaign announce the release of The Healthspan Imperative, a landmark new short film.

Narrated by television show host and best-selling author Martha Stewart, it looks at the challenges of the aging American population and the scientific quest to increase our health span, the length of time we spend free of the costly and harmful conditions of old age.

The U.S. population is getting older—and living longer. This is expected to produce a “Silver Tsunami” of costly chronic diseases and disabilities of aging. Finding a way to avert this impending disaster will be this country’s next great priority.

This film shares how experts are working toward discoveries that could alter the aging process and postpone or even prevent chronic diseases.

“The Healthspan Imperative explores one of our country’s biggest challenges,” says Sue Peschin, MHS, Alliance president and CEO. “Chronic diseases of aging are a tremendous threat to not only our health care system, but to the well-being of older adults and their family caregivers.

“As this film shows, research into the underlying biological process of aging has the potential to extend healthy years of life, but only if we increase our federal investment. The most effective strategy in ‘bending the cost curve’ in health care will be preventing age-related chronic diseases in the first place.”

The Healthspan Imperative features interviews with:

Nir Barzilai, M.D., Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University
Marie A. Bernard, M.D., National Institute on Aging
Laura Carstensen, Ph.D., Stanford Center on Longevity
Dana Goldman, Ph.D., University of Southern California
Brian Kennedy, Ph.D., Buck Institute for Research on Aging
James Kirkland, M.D., Ph.D., Mayo Clinic
Rick I. Morimoto, Ph.D., Northwestern University
S. Jay Olshansky, Ph.D., University of Illinois at Chicago
Dan Perry, Alliance for Aging Research
Felipe Sierra, Ph.D., National Institute on Aging

Funding was provided by Allianz, Battelle, The Retirement Research Foundation, the Buck Institute for Research on Aging and the Glenn Foundation for Medical Research.

Video – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rGpJDyiUXs

SOURCE Alliance for Aging Research