S. Jay Olshansky

At a glance

• Demographer and emeritus professor at the School of Public Health, University of Illinois Chicago, specialising in biodemography and the limits of life expectancy.
• Co-founder and chief scientist of Lapetus Solutions, a company that estimates life expectancy for insurers.
• Has argued since the 1990s that life expectancy cannot keep rising indefinitely; in 2024 he reported in Nature Aging that gains in rich countries have clearly slowed and that radical life extension this century is implausible.
• At the same time he champions geroscience: slowing ageing itself, with the goal of more healthy years rather than simply a longer life.
• Known for his bet with biologist Steven Austad (2000) on whether anyone can reach 150.
• His analyses show that the big life-expectancy gains of the last century came from lower child mortality and better treatment of infections and heart disease — gains that are hard to repeat.
• Takeaway: do not expect spectacular life extension, but invest in what buys healthy years — exercise, diet, sleep and social ties.