How Will Society Change as the US Population Ages?

The time between retirement and death has grown from years to decades with opportunities for America's aging population

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Even as average life expectancy has started to trend downward in the United States, Americans 65 and older are living longer. The change toward longer old age will have profound effects on health care needs, families, and what it means to be old. In the Q&A article that follows, Marcia G. Ory, founding director of the Texas A&M Center for Population Health and Aging, explains why all Americans will be affected by a bulge in the graying population.

What are the demographic trends in aging in the United States?

As baby boomers age, society in America has aged. Back in 1900, about 3 million older Americans were defined as people 65 and older. Now it’s more than 50 million adults who are 65 and older. But the fastest-growing population in this age group isn’t just those people 65 and older—it’s the people 85 and older, 100 and older.

What are the main reasons that Americans are living longer?

If you look at why people are living longer, it’s really a combination of 3 or 4 things. It’s certainly a little bit of our genes. We used to think that was the biggest factor, but that’s not the biggest factor at all. It’s about how we live, meaning our health behaviors. It’s having a good diet. It’s being physically active. These are the kinds of behaviors that will make a difference.

But the third leg of that is really where we live. We’re now understanding that there are a lot of social determinants of health. Even your ZIP code, where you live, can be as powerful a predictor of mortality and morbidity as something that we think of traditionally, such as smoking or obesity.

What are the implications of population aging from a public health perspective?

Older people are more likely on average than younger people to have chronic conditions. And those chronic conditions will put a demand on health care services. The cost of health care will go up as a nation as a whole as we get older. Also, as the population gets older, there will be more people who have Alzheimer’s or related dementias, which will create an increased burden on care. It’s still primarily families who care for older Americans, so we’ll have an increased burden on families who are already stretched really thin. We’ll also have increased demand on health care workers to the point where there aren’t going to be enough health care workers to meet the needs of our aging population.