In an era of self-optimization, if you have the money, you can afford the type of preventative care that could potentially extend your life — or at least make old age more comfortable.
According to reporter Allison Hatfield, Dallas is a hub for the growing longevity industry. She wrote about the ways doctors are trying to help people live longer, and who can afford it, in her latest piece for D Magazine titled, "The Business of Living Longer: Inside the Race to Slow Aging in North Texas."
These interview highlights have been edited for length and clarity. To hear the conversation in full, click the 'listen' button above.
Medical doctors are thinking differently
While some doctors spend their time trying to make the sick well, others have pivoted to trying to make the well, "well-er."
"Doctors, like everyone else, are excited about living longer and not just living longer, but living more helpfully," Hatfield said. "Also, it could maybe be kind of sad to treat ill people all the time, and in the age of optimization, I think doctors are like, 'oh, it could be fun to people optimize things.'"
Money, money, money
Services go beyond just wearing a FitBit or Oura ring. Patients can access to new tests, scans and services, but they come at a high cost.
"If you have a lot of money, you can sign up with one of these concierge medicine doctors who's working in this industry," Hatfield said. "Some of these services can be $100,000 a year. That gets you access to doctors and to these tests, and to these recommendations that your general practitioner is just not gonna be able to do."
For these companies and practitioners, the goal is optimization. Worldwide, Hatfield says the longevity industry is going to generate nearly $28 billion dollars.
Dallas culture
To Hatfield, Dallas is becoming an epicenter for this industry. There are so many scientists and researchers in Dallas, and she says many are trying to take things to the next step.
"Our [Dallas'] big institutions are doing the research and sciences," Hatfield said. "They felt like they needed to take that somewhere else to make it a business. One of the people I interviewed says that when the science and the money and the consumers come together, that's really when you have something going on."
"Dallas does have a lot of money," she continued. "And in Dallas, we like to look good. So, there is this aspect of looking good and there's this aspect of having some disposable income and that that made this a great environment for businesses."
Miranda Suarez is a co-host of KERA's NTX Now. Got a tip? Email Miranda at msuarez@kera.org.
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