'Age power': how the new-old will transform medicine in the 21st century. Interview by Alice V. Luddington

Today there are 78 million American baby boomers--persons between ages 35 and 53--comprising one-third of the U.S. population. According to psychologist and entrepreneur Ken Dychtwald, PhD, the 20th century has been ruled by the young, but the 21st century will belong to the "new-old." He predicts that as medical patients, the aging boomers will crave vigor, vitality, and life extension. The irony of past medical successes, he says, is that they have produced legions of long-lived elders who struggle with the very problems that the American health care system is ill-prepared to handle, such as heart disease, cancer, arthritis, osteoporosis, and Alzheimer's. The good news is that there are some solutions that Dr. Dychtwald believes could produce a healthier version of aging at a lower cost than today's system.