Aging populations are generating both challenges and opportunities for societies around the globe. Increases in longevity and improvements in health raise many questions. What steps can be taken to optimize physical and cognitive health and productivity across the life span? How will older people finance their retirement and health care? What will be the macroeconomic implications of an aging population? How will communities be shaped by the shift in age structure? What global interconnections will affect how each society handles the aging of its population?

To address these questions, the National Academies organized a symposium, summarized in the present volume, to determine how best to contribute to an evidence-based dialogue on population aging that will shape policies and programs. Presentations in the fields of biology, public health, medicine, informatics, macroeconomics, finance, urban planning, and engineering approached the challenges of aging from many different angles. The presenters reviewed the current state of knowledge in their respective fields, identifying areas of consensus and controversy and delineating the priority questions for further research and policy development.

Contents

• THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
• PLANNING COMMITTEE FOR THE ACADEMIES-WIDE INITIATIVE ON THE GRAND CHALLENGES OF OUR AGING SOCIETY
• Acknowledgments
• 1. Introduction
  • GRAND CHALLENGES OF OUR AGING SOCIETY
  • INTRODUCTORY REMARKS
• 2. Biological Research, Medical Advances, and Ethical Considerations
  • EXTENDING THE LIFE SPAN
  • THE BIOLOGY OF FRAILTY
  • ALLOCATING SCARCE HEALTH CARE RESOURCES
• 3. Enhancing Healthy Aging
  • STRATEGIES FOR HEALTH PROMOTION
  • OBESITY AMONG OLDER PEOPLE
  • EXERCISE AND COGNITION
  • RACIAL DISPARITIES AND COMMUNICATION
• 4. Macroeconomic and Financial Impacts
  • GENERAL MACROECONOMIC OVERVIEW
  • MACROECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL IMPACTS OF AGING
  • AN INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE
• 5. Income Security and Health Care Financing Programs
  • INCOME SECURITY FOR AN AGING POPULATION
  • HEALTH CARE FINANCING
  • AN INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE
• 6. Social Institutions and Policies
  • WILL INSTITUTIONS AND POLICIES PERMIT SUFFICIENT FLEXIBILITY?
  • THE GROWING IMPERATIVE FOR STRUCTURAL CHANGE
• 7. Community Responses
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • TECHNOLOGY, AGING, AND INNOVATION
• 8. Summary Discussion
  • REACTION OF DISCUSSANTS
  • GENERAL AUDIENCE DISCUSSION
• Appendix A Agenda
• Appendix B Selected Recent National Academies Publications on Aging Issues
• Appendix C Biographical Sketches of Planning Committee Members and Presenters

Rapporteur: Amy Smith.

Suggested citation:

National Research Council. (2010). Grand Challenges of Our Aging Society: Workshop Summary. Amy Smith, Rapporteur. Center for Economic, Governance, and International Studies, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the Steering Committee for the workshop were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.

This study was supported with internal funds from the National Academy of Sciences. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.