It seems like a day doesn’t pass when there isn’t a news item regarding President Joe Biden’s age (80).
In an Associated Press-NORC poll in September, 77% of Americans overall and 69 percent of Democrats said Biden is “too old to effectively serve” a second term. Of course, Donald Trump, the likely Republican nominee at 77 years, isn’t that far behind.
Does their age really disqualify them? Or is 80 the new 60?
To grapple with these questions I spoke to Dr. Bradley Willcox, one of the top aging researchers in the country and a professor and director of research at the John A. Burns School of Medicine. Willcox has appeared in media venues ranging from “Oprah” and National Geographic to most recently, an Oct. 6 story in The Wall Street Journal. He’s also the author of “The Okinawa Program: How the World’s Longest-Lived People Achieve Everlasting Health — And How You Can Too,” a New York Times bestseller.
I caught up with him recently on my Kaimuki lanai.
Question: Should old age really prohibit one from serving in public office?
Answer: No. Nowadays people in this country are healthier at older ages than ever before. Just because someone is a septuagenarian or older, you can’t assume that they are feeble or not fit to serve. Some aspects of cognition improve with age and, life experience is invaluable.
Q: What specifically about Trump and Biden offers insights about their longevity prospects?
A: There are a couple of clues. Genetics play a huge role. Both Biden and Trump had parents that were long-lived. Biden’s mother died at 92 and Joe Biden Sr. at 86. Trump’s mother lived to 88 and his father to 93, though late in life he developed Alzheimer’s disease. Both have other longevity predictors. These include access to excellent health care, high income, advanced education and both are married.
Q: Does one have a longevity edge over the other?
A: Back in September of 2020 colleagues from the University of Chicago and I published a scientific manuscript called “Projected Lifespan and Healthspan of Joe Biden and Donald Trump Before the 2020 Election” in the Journal on Active Aging. We concluded that Biden is expected to outlive Trump, even though he is three years older.
Q: Why is that?
A: Biden has an exceptional health profile for a man his age (e.g., ideal body mass index, physically active, few prescription medications, no identifiable lethal conditions, excellent cholesterol profile, low inflammation).
Q: What are possible issues with Trump?
A: Trump shares much of this profile, except his obesity and sedentary lifestyle work against his familial longevity history and his otherwise healthy biological profile. Trump’s risk factors are significant but modifiable — it is unknown whether he has adhered to lifestyle recommendations from his physicians.
Q: What kinds of lessons can we take away from this study?
A: “Bad habits” are not conducive to healthy aging. Smoking is the worst risk factor. Overconsumption of alcohol is risky. Those are two of the biggest killers. Both Biden and Trump don’t drink or smoke so that’s in their favor.
Q: I take it a good diet is also essential?
A: Yes. One of the keys to longevity which I’ve observed with the long-lived Okinawans, is their varied, plant-based diet which allows for a diversity of micronutrients and healthy compounds.
Q: Can good genetics mitigate our bad habits?
A: Yes. Sometimes genetics can partially mitigate bad habits. One of the things I’ve discovered that distinguishes centenarians from others is that they usually have the “longevity” version of the FOXO3 gene. If you are lucky enough to have that variant (about 1/3 of us) it can partially “trump” a poor diet and alcohol intake or other vices. If Trump has the “right” genetic makeup, it can help mitigate a less than optimal diet. On the other hand, his extra adiposity could shorten his lifespan. One of the things I’ve learned in my research is that skinny, short people are often the longest lived.
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Rob Kay, a Honolulu-based writer, covers technology and sustainability for Tech View and is the creator of fijiguide.com. He can be reached at Robertfredkay@gmail.com.
