Longevity, health and wealth …mark the theme of the 19^th World Congress of Gerontology and Geriatrics being held this week in Paris, July 5 to 9.  The Congress which began in 1950, was attended by 113 delegates from 14 countries, now boasts 6000 attendees from 82 countries.

“Research is the future of every society in the world”, said Bernard Forette, president, in his opening speech. “Society should not have to choose between living better or living longer, but to live better and longer.

Keynote speaker, Sergei Zelenev, social scientist with the United Nations Secretariat stressed the need to focus on the major demographic shift of the aging baby boomers.  "How will the growing number of people be cared for”, he asked.  How will adequate income support be provided?  Traditional family support is disappearing.  How will we be prepared?

Although much of the congress content is dedicated to the biology of aging and to clinical research, an important focus is also on issues such as world policy and economics of healthcare.  Over 50 percent of the abstracts submitted deal with medicine and clinical geriatrics, 25 percent are devoted to sociology, policy and practice, 15 percent to psychology and behavior and 7 percent to basic research.

Nutrition seems to be a key component of the Congress as well, highlighted by the International Academy of Nutrition and Age Related Diseases Conference yesterday.  How nutrition plays a key role in cognitive decline, longevity or successful aging were key topics at the sessions.  Exhibitors, such as Nestle Nutrition, are shedding light on the underrated role of nutrition in aging.

The importance of how we view aging will be a key theme for the week.