If Obama Grows Old Before His Time, Stressed-Out Cell Tips Might Be to Blame
By Frances Stead Sellers
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, January 19, 2009
Focused though the world is on the youthful athleticism of the 47-year-old who will take the oath of office tomorrow, it's tempting to ask what impact his new job will have on President-elect Barack Obama over his four -- or eight -- years in office.
The battle lines of two or more wars may by then have furrowed his brow; a sagging economy put bags under his eyes; and as-yet-untold worries stolen the spring from his jump shot. That's unless another trait, the calm with which Obama apparently responds to stress, allows him to transcend the unique demands of leading the free world.
If looks are anything to go by -- and science suggests they may be -- the cares of the world weigh heavily on our leaders. Witness the graying of Bill Clinton and the wizening of George W. Bush.
Presidents undergo a process of accelerated aging, according to Michael Roizen, who has accumulated facts and figures on presidential health dating back to the 1920s and speculates that "presidents get two years older for every year they're in office." If Roizen's right, eight years from now Obama may look more 63 than 55, more Clarence Thomas than Denzel Washington.
There's no single theory of aging, or senescence, to explain why some people age more quickly than others. Most agree, though, that our bodies reach their peak in our mid-20s, and it's almost all downhill from there -- and slow going, given that life expectancy in the United States now extends about a decade beyond the proverbial three score years and 10.
(More here.)
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, January 19, 2009
Focused though the world is on the youthful athleticism of the 47-year-old who will take the oath of office tomorrow, it's tempting to ask what impact his new job will have on President-elect Barack Obama over his four -- or eight -- years in office.
The battle lines of two or more wars may by then have furrowed his brow; a sagging economy put bags under his eyes; and as-yet-untold worries stolen the spring from his jump shot. That's unless another trait, the calm with which Obama apparently responds to stress, allows him to transcend the unique demands of leading the free world.
If looks are anything to go by -- and science suggests they may be -- the cares of the world weigh heavily on our leaders. Witness the graying of Bill Clinton and the wizening of George W. Bush.
Presidents undergo a process of accelerated aging, according to Michael Roizen, who has accumulated facts and figures on presidential health dating back to the 1920s and speculates that "presidents get two years older for every year they're in office." If Roizen's right, eight years from now Obama may look more 63 than 55, more Clarence Thomas than Denzel Washington.
There's no single theory of aging, or senescence, to explain why some people age more quickly than others. Most agree, though, that our bodies reach their peak in our mid-20s, and it's almost all downhill from there -- and slow going, given that life expectancy in the United States now extends about a decade beyond the proverbial three score years and 10.
(More here.)
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