The word healthspan has become one of the most popular terms in longevity science. Longevity clinics promise to extend it. Supplement companies claim to protect it. Researchers who study aging, myself included, use it constantly in papers, talks, and grant proposals. Yet for such a widely used word, surprisingly few people can say exactly what it means.
The term was introduced by gerontologist John “Jack” Rowe and psychologist Robert Kahn in a landmark 1987 article in Science.1 They argued that the goal of aging research should not simply be to help people live longer, but to extend the years of…
