The essay's authors, Olshansky, UIC School of Public Health, Leonard Hayflick, University of California, San Francisco, and Bruce A. Carnes, National Opinion Research Center/Center on Aging at the University of Chicago, are three of 51 scientists who have issued a position statement that can be found at www.sciam.com/explorations/2002/051302aging/ warning the public that "no currently marketed intervention has yet been proved to slow, stop or reverse human aging."
The popularity of "longevity" clinics and the Internet boom provide an opportunity for entrepreneurs to promote and sell their products to consumers of all ages, says Olshansky.
"While the public is bombarded by hype and lies, many biologists are intensively studying the underlying nature of aging in the belief that their research will eventually suggest ways to slow its progression and to thereby postpone infirmity and improve quality of life," the authors write. "But anyone purporting to offer an anti-aging product today is either mistaken or lying."
Concerned about the proliferation of the anti-aging industry, the scientists are speaking out to alert the public about the medical dangers of so-called anti-aging therapies. For example, many Americans are not aware that the Food and Drug Administration does not require rigorous testing for nutritional supplements such as antioxidants.
Aside from the fact that supplements have not been shown to have any influence on aging, these products have no warnings about side effects that may result when taken either with or without approved medic
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Contact: Sherri McGinnis
smcginn@uic.edu
312-996-8277
University of Illinois at Chicago
20-May-2002