Human's life expectancy can reach 150, say experts

More than 20 leading scientists from nine countries attend the first Jinhai Lake World Anti-aging Summit in Beijing on Monday. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Human's life expectancy may be prolonged to 150 years old by 2070 due to an ongoing medical progress in fighting aging, experts said.

"It has been proved to be effective and practical for modern anti-aging medical science to apply early detection, prevention and intervention to help human maintain a good mental and physical state in old ages," said Xiao Zihua, director of the migrants' service center of the National Health and Family Planning Commission of China, at the first Jinhai Lake World Anti-aging Summit held in Beijing on Monday.

Bernd Kleine-Gunk, president of the German Society of Anti-Aging Medicine, said at the summit that aging is not inevitable, but can be cured with a joint effort among doctors, geneticists and stem cells experts.

Significant achievements have been made in this emerging field and more therapies are yet to come in the future, he said.

The Mayo Clinic, a United States-based nonprofit medical research group, conducted a genetic modification program on mice to find ways to delay aging of lungs, bone losing at spinal cord and improve cardiovascular function.

Now the clinic trail based on human beings has begun. The clinic also works on pills to make senescent cells kill themselves.

Australian-American Nobel laureate and president of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in the United States, Elizabeth Helen Blackburn, said though the limitation of human longevity is 120 to 130 years, it's not crazy to foresee a 150 years old of life expectancy in the future.

She said the secret of longevity lied in the genes and lifestyle.

Changing the genes is not easy, but it's possible to prolong life by control of diabetes, heart disease and cancer, she added.

Li Zhe, co-chairmen of World Anti-Aging and Biomedical Association Council, said men in healthy state of mind may live 20 years longer than that in bad mindset.

"Balance in diets, exercises, mental state as well as relations with friends and family members can also help fight aging," he said.

Growing number of old population also brings challenges to the society.

If human can live up to 100 years old in general, they may need to work at 80s, which means old people still need to learn new knowledge and improve adaptive capacity, said Lynda Gratton, professor of London Business School.

Statistics from the National Health and Family Planning Commission of China showed the number of Chinese people aged over 60 years old reached 230 million by the end of 2016, 17 percent of the whole population.

By 2030, this group will occupy 30 percent of the world's population, it said.

Xiao Zihua, from the commission, said anti-aging industry should focus on old people, women, the disabled and migrants. And it's necessary to combine medical treatment with endowment.