AS I SEE IT
BY MARIANNE HERON
The goalposts for growing older are moving dramatically. We are living much longer — average life expectancy is now 83, but around a third of those born today will eventually celebrate having 100 birthday candles on their cake.
Would you like to live to be 100 years old?
Well, I wouldn’t, not unless I were in as good shape as renowned naturalist David Attenborough [pictured] who celebrated his centenary this month. The international treasure is a brilliant advertisement for adding life to your years. Full of vitality, he is still involved in making TV programmes; still full of endearing enthusiasm to record and protect the creatures of this planet in a career which began over 70 years ago, with the ground-breaking series Zoo Quest.
When Attenborough was born in 1926 it was the year of Ireland’s first national census. The BBC, to which Attenborough devoted much of his career, was still 10 years away. And there he is today, still on our screens hosting his new 2026 series Secret Garden, revealing the lives of animals unfolding in Britain’s back gardens.
His is a remarkable life, not least in the way he provides such a compelling example of ageing positively as he enters his 11th decade. What is the secret and can we share it? Is it down to our genes, pure luck or to following the lifestyles of the Blue Zones, where people lead significantly longer and healthier lives?
None of the above are the main factors when it comes to managing our ageing well and preventing age-related diseases, according to Rose Anne Kenny, founder of the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) and consultant in geriatric medicine. “The good news is that the majority of the ageing process, between 70 to 80%, is within our control,” writes Prof. Kenny. “The remainder is under the jurisdiction of our genes over which we have little control at present.”
Maybe we will be genetically modified to prevent creaky joints and other geriatric complaints in the future but for now, once we get past a certain age, it’s very much up to us. While some of the factors involved in ageing well are obvious — like good nutrition, sufficient sleep and keeping fit — so-called soft factors are just as important in the way that they influence the ageing process for a longer, healthier life. Supportive relationships, friendships and a sense of community and belonging are important. So too are intangible aspects in our lives, like having purpose and doing something meaningful.
Attenborough is also in the happy position that he wasn’t put on that shelf marked retirement in his 60s but has been able to continue making a hugely significant contribution, changing minds and policy as an advocate for biodiversity and climate change. He has kept on keeping on, full of curiosity in pursuit of a lifelong passion.
To be able to make a meaningful difference, in some way however small, would be a convincing argument in favour of living longer. Many do that, caring for grandchildren or relatives, volunteering, contributing to community or fostering creativity and finding rewards where money doesn’t change hands. There is a huge amount of talent and experience among elders which could be used to make all our lives better.
Being able to satisfy one’s curiosity about what happens next with the huge issues facing us might be another reason to live for those extra decades, but maybe not. Will AI usher in a new age of leisure, putting millions out of work; will the current age of instability end and will climate change result in catastrophe?
Retirement, when a career ends, can be a time for reconsideration and redefinition. Some people just want to sit back and smell the roses, some find their own way to fulfilment in a fresh chapter of life. We are all different. Some find the abrupt change from employment to the hinterland of retirement challenging, which is why I offer guidance with Rewire Don’t Retire. Recently there has been a record 26% increase in numbers continuing to work past retirement age.
What happens in later life is, for me, one of the crux issues about the advisability of living longer. We need a rethink about this new stretch of life, to ensure that it is worthwhile and not about being side-lined.
