Three Not-So-Bad Things on Aging and Longevity
A Weekly Newsletter
There’s no denying it: we are constantly bombarded with bad news. A pandemic, climate change, inflation, war, political discord—the list goes on. Here at the Longevity Project, we understand that bad news can be enough to take years off your life, so we want to do our part (however small) to balance the scales.
At the end of the day, though, we’re realists. Good news is hard to come by, no matter how hard you look. So we’ll aim a little lower and without further ado, we are pleased to share our first weekly newsletter: Three Not-So-Bad Things on Longevity and Aging. Feel free to share with others and send us items you want to see included. With some luck, you will see this newsletter (and some more not so bad news) every Wednesday.
Subscribe below to stay up-to-date on all the latest newsletter releases!
MARCH 12, 2025
1. JD Hasn't Fixed The Birth Rate Quite Yet.
Data released by the CDC last week revealed that the birthrate fell yet again in the US, from 1.66 births per woman in 2022 to 1.62 in 2023. It’s part of a larger trend. Since 1990, when birthrates hovered around the replacement rate of 2.1, the general fertility rate has dropped about 22%.
There’s a lot going on underneath the top line number though, as rates of birth have changed dramatically in different age groups over time. According to the Population Reference Bureau (PBR), birth rates among women over 30 have increased dramatically since 1990, up 90% among women between 35 and 39, and 193% among women over 40. Some of that reflects changes in cultural norms as women have become a more significant part of the workforce and have delayed pregnancies as a result, but it also reflects medical advances over the last quarter century that have allowed more successful births for older mothers. But those increases have been more than offset by sharp plunges among women under 30: birth rates among women 20 to 24 have dropped 24% and teen births have dropped by 73%.
Unlike some other low birthrate countries, the decline in births in the US have been more than offset by increases in migration, both the legal and the illegal varieties. But that seems unlikely to continue in the current political environment in which the Administration is generally unenthusiastic even about legal immigration and very eager to deport as many people who are in the US illegally as possible in the shortest amount of time. Vice President Vance has declared the falling birthrate a crisis, but seems less inclined to characterize immigration as the solution.
If you want a picture of what low birth rates and no migration looks like, take a look at South Korea, where population is a national crisis. Korea has the lowest birthrate in the world – and it’s not even particularly close. The country’s population, which peaked at 51.83 million in 2020, is expected to shrink to 36.22 million by 2072, according to the latest projections. The birthrate has fallen steadily for decades, and in 2023, plummeted all the way to .72, roughly one third of the rate needed to maintain the population. Experts attribute all this to the high cost of living and education, a stressful work environment, and growing dissatisfaction among women of assuming traditional gender roles.
The government has responded with billions in incentives for marriage, childbirth, and childcare, but for the last decade, these efforts have not arrested the slide in the birthrate. But there is at least a glimmer of hope. Post-pandemic, marriage rates in Korea have started to rebound and relatedly last year, birth rates increased, to .75. In a country starved for children, this is a notable moment, though the question remains whether it is a blip or the start of a recovery in birth rates (the government has set a goal of getting to 1.0 by 2030). In general, public policy has not been terribly effective in arresting the decline in birth rates, but perhaps now Vice President Vance will consider support for childcare and the like as appropriate investments to arrest the decline in the US birthrate.
2. I'll Have The Waffles With a Side Dish Of Pot.
At TNSB, we love exploring the wisdom and insights of successful agers, especially healthy nonagenarians and centenarians. But when it comes to their secrets of longevity, we still like them but take them with a grain of salt. Over the last couple years, we’ve highlighted superagers who have chalked up their success to a happy marriage and others who have claimed their longevity is due to never marrying. And when it comes to booze, there are both the abstainers and those who attribute their health to downing a Yuengling beer or drinking moonshine every day. You take your pick.
But when it comes to Willie Nelson, we take his advice very seriously. There is no obvious reason to explain how Nelson is still touring and going strong at age 91, so he must know something the rest of us don’t. And now he is giving us hints of those secrets to his longevity, and it is an answer that would give Leslie Knope great satisfaction.
In addition to his well-known fondness for cannabis, Nelson eats waffles every day:
“Annie [his wife] makes me a waffle almost every day. I like ‘em with chicken-fried steak and gravy. I like ‘em with ice cream. I like ‘em with maple syrup. I never met a waffle I didn’t like.”
We’re not entirely sure about that chicken-fried steak part of it, but who are we to argue with Willie? So, if you want to be as healthy as Willie Nelson, belly up to that waffle bar, and if you want to be as high as Willie Nelson, check out his cookbook, “Willie and Annie Nelson’s Cannabis Cookbook”.
3. Picture This: More Work.
If you google images for “the ideal retirement”, you’ll get lots of pictures of older people relaxing: on park benches, at dinner tables, but for some reason, most often in beach chairs. But that image, so firmly embedded in popular culture, is increasingly at odds with how older Americans expect to live their post 65 years.
According to a new survey from the Transamerica Institute, a dwindling number of Americans expect to live out a “traditional” retirement. Approximately 40% of all workers expect to retire after age 70 or do not intend to retire at all. More than 50% of all workers expect to work in retirement: about 1/3rd of that group wants to work full time, and the remaining 2/3rd plan to work part time. It’s a very different picture of retirement than the one handed down to us from previous generations or from our friends at Google.
Both economics and personal health and fulfillment are driving this new desire to work past traditional ages of retirement – in roughly equal measures. The most popular reason cited for wanting to keep working in retirement is the desire for extra income (cited by 53%), but close behind extra income is the desire to be active (51%), the need to keep the brain alert (43%), enjoy what I do (39%), and maintain a sense of purpose (37%). It’s a very different picture of what retirement means, and perhaps the next time you google “ideal retirement”, you might find at least one picture of someone hunched over a spreadsheet. You can find out more here.
Check out our archived posts here: