The last thing you ever want to do is extend the period of frailty and disability and make people unhealthy for a longer time period. So lifespan extension in and of itself should not be the goal of medicine, nor should it be the goal of public health, nor should it be the goal of aging science.
Interpretation
Extending life should focus on improving health quality rather than just longevity.
S. Jay Olshansky emphasizes that the goal of medicine and public health should not merely be to prolong life but to ensure that the additional years are not spent in frailty or illness. He argues for a focus on enhancing the quality of life and well-being during the years one lives, rather than simply extending life expectancy at the cost of health.
In practice
In a discussion about healthcare policies, you might use this quote to advocate for a focus on health quality rather than just extending life.
Sickness is poor-spirited, and cannot serve anyone; it must husband its resources to live. But health or fullness answers its own ends, and has to spare, runs over, and inundates the neighborhoods and creeks of other men's necessities.
The good physician treats the disease; the great physician treats the patient who has the disease.
Promoting health without encouraging others to seek wholeness is an exercise in futility. Not until we realize that our bodies are mirrors of our interpersonal, spiritual, professional, sexual, creative, financial, environmental, mental, and emotional health will we truly heal.
Take care of your body with steadfast fidelity. The soul must see through these eyes alone, and if they are dim, the whole world is clouded.
We cannot step aside and say that we have achieved our goal by inventing a new drug or a new way by which to treat presently incurable diseases, a new way to help those who suffer from malnutrition, or the creation of ideal balanced diets on a worldwide scale. We cannot rest till the way has been found, with our help, to bring our finest achievement to everyone.
The awareness that health is dependent upon habits that we control makes us the first generation in history that to a large extent determines its own destiny.
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