The use of age-management medicines is rapidly increasing, particularly in developed countries. The determination to enjoy a long and healthy lifespan is making people embrace anti-aging interventions. However, anti-aging intervention has elicited a controversial debate between its supporters and opponents. Supporters of anti-aging interventions argue that aging is not only a problem but also a disease that should be addressed. Proponents of the practice, on the other hand, maintain that anti-aging interventions interfere with the normal life cycle of human beings and can result in adverse consequences. Anti-aging interventions have both negative and positive effects to individuals and society, and they should be cautiously embraced.
According to the biologist, Aubrey de Grey, in his TEDx talk titled "Seeking Immortality," age is a problem that the society must address. His argument is mainly based on the notion that aging is expensive, especially regarding health expenses. He opines that country like the USA is spending a lot of money to address the health need of the aging population. I agree with Grey that aging is a problem society needs to address, mainly because it has severe effects on individuals and society at large. For instance, the state and federal health expenditure on the aging population has increased significantly over the last three decades. The health expenditure for taking care of the aging population now accounts for more than 10% of the US’s GDP, which may increase in the future ( De Meijer et al ., 2013) . At the same time, people are forced to spend a lot of financial resources and time taking care of their elderly parents. Thus, as argued by Grey, age is indeed a problem in the society that needs to be addressed.
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However, developing ways to slow aging has both advantages and disadvantages. One of the main benefits of slowing aging is that it will increase life expectancy. A study that was done by Olshansky and colleagues found that using anti-aging intervention can increase life expectancy by about 2.2 years ( Leslie, 2013) . People will be able to live longer if they are using aging management medicines. Slowing the aging process helps in reducing aging-related diseases that are costly. For example, anti-aging medication can reduce the risks of suffering from heart diseases or cancers by about 25% ( Leslie, 2013) . Nonetheless, there are some disadvantages to developing anti-aging interventions or medicines. Anti-aging interventions are associated with an increase in medical and social welfare expenditures. The Medicare and Medicaid programs, for instance, will require an additional $300 billion by 2060 if life expectancy continues to increase ( Leslie, 2013) . Social security expenditure will also increase.
One of the major ethical concerns or anti-aging interventions is that it only favors the rich while the poor will be forced to age normally ( Mackey, 2003) . Aging management medicines are always expensive and out of rich for many poor people. Consequently, it will result in inequity as poor people will die young while the rich will live for many years. The second ethical concern linked to the anti-aging intervention is its interference with the normal life cycle ( Mackey, 2003) . It is possible for people to misuse the anti-aging medicines to interfere with the natural process of aging. Also, overpopulation is an ethical concern that is linked to anti-aging interventions, especially because it can make life unbearable for many people.
Culture or societies that are pursuing the slowing of aging may encounter both positive and negative consequences. The main positive consequence of slowing aging process is improved health of the population ( Walker, 2006) . The society will not be affected significantly with some of the chronic diseases like cancer and heart ailments. Having a healthy population benefits the entire culture. However, slowing aging would mean that a culture will be dominated by older adults with a reduced number of young people. A society that is dominated by older adults is not productive and innovative. At the same time, there would likely to be a conflict between the younger and older people, due to cases like the high unemployment rate.
Besides, pursuing the slowing of aging may have a significant impact on this stage of development. Human beings have been developing for centuries, leading to enhanced creativity and innovation. However, the creativity of human beings may be reduced by anti-aging medicines or interventions. According to cognitive-contextual theory, human intelligence is not only influenced by cognitive factors, but also other processes like learning, perception, and experience, leading to adaptation to emerging problems or changes in the society ( Williams & Kemper, 2010) . Nonetheless, the development of human intelligence may be reduced by anti-aging interventions.
Therefore, Grey was right to argue that aging is a problem that is affecting the society and it should be addressed, primarily through the use of anti-aging mechanisms. However, despite the many benefits of anti-aging interventions, people should be prepared for adverse consequences of slowing aging. Ant-aging has both social and economic impact on human life such as an increase in medical expenses and the expansion of welfare programs. Therefore, people should do a cost-benefit analysis before adopting anti-aging interventions.
References
De Meijer, C., Wouterse, B., Polder, J., & Koopmanschap, M. (2013). The effect of population aging on health expenditure growth: a critical review. European Journal of Ageing , 10 (4), 353-361.
Leslie, M. (2013, November 9). Benefits of slowing aging could outweigh the costs. Retrieved from https://www.wired.com/2013/10/costs-benefits-slowing-aging/
Mackey, T. (2003). An ethical assessment of anti-aging medicine. Journal of anti-aging medicine , 6 (3), 187-204.
Walker, R. F. (2006). On the evolution of anti-aging medicine. Clinical interventions in aging , 1 (3), 201-203.
Williams, K. N., & Kemper, S. (2010). Interventions to reduce cognitive decline in aging. Journal of psychosocial nursing and mental health services , 48 (5), 42-51.
