My dad travels frequently for business trips, and this time I decided to join him. His conference happened to be in Florida, so I figured I could soak up some rays in the turquoise water while he attended meetings. Thankfully, I decided to go with him to one of the conventions. At first, I was delighted by the free fruit plates, crackers and cheese cubes, and various novelty souvenirs at many of the booths. I weaved aimlessly in and out of the rows of medical innovators until many of the advertisements started to catch my eye. The conference was about anti-aging, and ways in which newest health discoveries and medical technology is able to keep us looking as young as possible until the day that we die. Some of the newest technologies presented at the convention included; pills to keep you full so you slim down, laser surgery to keep you wrinkle-free as you grow old, and machines to track muscle growth. I found several of these to be very interesting and beneficial, while several others sparked an internal debate about what "growing old" really means in our society.
One of my discoveries was a machine with metal plates to place your feet, and two bars to hold onto. I typed in my height, age and weight, and within minutes a detailed sheet was printed out telling me things I never thought I needed to know about my body mass, such as how much my left leg weighs, how many calories I would burn if I didn't move all day, or how my body makeup differs from others of my age and height. I learned that this could be beneficial in tracking injury recoveries in athletes or creating weight loss or weight gain plans. However, I began to wonder if this type of technology could urge people to alter their bodies when they are perfectly healthy the way they are. I passed several booths offering me a five-day supply of a gummy supplement to suppress my appetite, or a treatment plan to lose fat without dieting. Unfortunately for these businesses, I have no desire to do any of those things, nor do I have to. I believe that although these are advertised as a way to be healthy, I can't help but think that it has more to do with an ideal image and looking young for as long as possible. Although these innovations could be confidence boosters for some, they are expensive and might not always be the healthiest option.
After seeing the way in which medical technology is shaping the way we think about health today, I realized how much the concept of aging has changed in our world. I used to think that grey hair and wrinkly cheeks were inevitable and simply a part of life that people learned to embrace. Today, we are moving away from accepting these normalcies and onto ways in which we can alter them. Additionally, much of what I saw at the conference promoted general health throughout a lifetime and ways to boost immunity and live the longest and most worthwhile life that you can. Although many of these innovations are relatively new, they set the stage for what our future is going to look like, and we can only wait and see what will become of them. What does aging look like to you?
