GSA Member Experts Guide National Conversation on Aging

By CEO James Appleby, BSPharm, MPH

As aging-related topics become more prominent in the public discourse, gerontologists are increasingly sought out to provide expert commentary. And GSA members are stepping into the role to great effect.

In January, past GSA President Jack Rowe joined The New Yorker Radio Hour for a program to discuss age and the fitness for office of presidential candidates. This subject is likely to be talked about increasingly as we approach the next election, and gerontologists need to be prepared to confront the ageism that underlies the public discourse.

That same month, 60 Minutes aired a piece titled “Recognizing and treating obesity as a disease.” It featured Fatima Cody Stanford, who served as a peer review panelist for GSA’s new KAER Toolkit for the Management of Obesity in Older Adults and joined us for a related podcast and Momentum Discussion webinar. Obesity is now defined as a disease by the American Medical Association, and GSA seeks to equip primary care teams with a useful framework to help older people recognize and care for their condition — a condition becoming more prevalent in the U.S. population.

And National Geographic has shined a spotlight on human longevity from multiple angles recently. Past GSA Biological Sciences Section Chairs Matt Kaeberlein and Rochelle Buffenstein and GSA fellow Becca Levy were included in a feature article titled “Can aging be cured? Scientists are giving it a try.” Kaeberlein also joined the magazine for a podcast titled “What science tells us about living longer.”

GSA will continue to help cultivate stories like these when the media contacts us in search of insights on aging. The Society is fortunate to have 5,400 member experts available to help educate reporters and ensure accurate, fact-based information is being brought to the general public. If you haven’t already done so, please complete the areas of expertise in your membership profile so we can refer media inquiries to you when appropriate.