IS 50 THE NEW 40?
An Interview with Dr. Namita S. Ahuja
Geriatric Department of the University of Pittsburgh

By Jack Etzel

Dr. Namita S. Ahuja

People in most developed countries are living far longer, and often healthier that just a few decades ago. For the answer to the above question we sought out the perspective of Dr. Namita S. Ahuja. Dr. Ahuja began her medical training in her native India. She spent five years as a physician in the practice of geriatric medicine in Tennessee. (Geriatrics can be defined as that branch of medicine dealing with the diseases and infirmities of old age.) Currently, she is a first year fellow in the Geriatric Department of the University of Pittsburgh.

North Hills Monthly Magazine: We want to talk a lot more to you about growing older, especially about how to go about it in the right way, but first off, Dr. Ahuja, is 50 years of age the new 40?
Dr. Namita Ahuja: No.

NHMM: No?
Dr. Ahuja: I think you have to change it a little bit and ask whether 50 is the new 30. That would be closer to the truth in many instances.

NHMM: In that case, I’ll ask you a harder question. Why are we living longer?
Dr. Ahuja: One reason we are living longer is that many of us are taking care of ourselves much better. In addition, in the 1920s and 1930s, even in the 1940s, people were dying of infections and diseases that we can now either treat or actually prevent. Antibiotics have played a major role in many of these cases. We no longer see epidemics of cholera and diphtheria. Those have been taken care of now.

NHMM: Dr. Ahuja, longevity is one thing, but how do we improve the quality of life?
Dr. Ahuja: Every year there are more people not smoking, exercising, eating healthier and consequently living longer. If we take care of ourselves better when we are younger, we can not only improve the longevity, but also automatically improve the quality of our life. If we start young to train our muscles, train our bodies to function better, it will pay off when you are older. Here, I would like to say that there is a big misconception in society that makes many people afraid of getting older. They think that some time, they’ll be in a nursing home. The fact is, there is a very small percentage of older people who are going to spend time in a nursing home.

NHMM: Allow me to get back to something you said about taking care of yourself when you are young. That brings to mind the present epidemic, if you will, of overweight children. You must view this as a very serious problem.
Dr. Ahuja: Definitely. It’s even dangerous at that point, but later obesity can lead to high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, just to name a few. And, now we know that many of the memory problems and dementia, which leads to a decrease in the quality of life, have a cholesterol etiology. A healthy diet when you’re young is very important.

NHMM: You don’t have to go back too many hundreds of years to see that human lifespan was nothing like we see today. They couldn’t have imagined so many in their nineties, and even more than one-hundred years old. What’s possible in the future?
Dr. Ahuja: You don’t have to go back that far. There are many more people living to 100 years and more than there were just twenty years ago. I can’t predict a percentage that will live more than one-hundred, but we will see more and more people hitting that 100 mark.

NHMM: If there’s a secret to longevity, what’s more important: diet, exercise, genes, what?
Dr. Ahuja: I think it is all of the above. If you go by the medical literature that we see today, you’ll see that study after study, and some of these studies have been going on since the 1930s, show that it is not just diet, exercise, or even genes, but also inner personal relationships.

NHMM: Am I still in a doctor’s office or a marriage counselor’s? I’d like to hear more about that.
Dr. Ahuja: Oh, it’s true. People who are married and happy live longer. Many studies through the years have shown this. Furthermore, that is much more true for men than for females. It’s kind of like, if you’re a man and you’re happy, that alone can add years to your life. There are others factors along this line. If you have children, more so a daughter, you will enjoy both quality and longevity in your life, and will likely live at home longer than you otherwise would with no happy marriage and no daughter, but remember that this is weighted in favor of men.

NHMM: And, we still – on average – die younger.
Dr. Ahuja: Unfortunately, we all have to die, but taking good care of yourself, especially when you’re younger is very important in your older years. A person should also remember that it’s never too late to start to improve your health. Improving your diet and exercising can result in a much more enjoyable life and years of higher quality, regardless of how many years you live. Just be sure to check with your physician before you start to change your diet or begin to exercise.

Note: We would like to thank the News Bureau at UPMC for helping us locate an expert in this field.