Anti-ageing industry ballooning - Boomers will be spending billions to counter age

NEW YORK (AP):

Baby boomers heading into what used to be called retirement age are providing a 70 million-member strong market for legions of companies, entrepreneurs and cosmetic surgeons eager to capitalise on their "forever young" mindset, whether it's through wrinkle creams, facelifts or workout regimens.

It adds up to potential bonanza. The market research firm Global Industry Analysts projects that a boomer-fuelled consumer base, "seeking to keep the dreaded signs of ageing at bay," will push the US market for anti-ageing products from about $80 billion now to more than $114 billion by 2015.

The boomers, who grew up in a culture glamorising youth, face an array of choices as to whether and how to be a part of that market.

Anti-ageing enthusiasts contend that lifespans can be prolonged through interventions such as hormone replacement therapy and dietary supplements. Critics, including much of the medical establishment, say many anti-ageing interventions are ineffective or harmful.

Be on guard

From mainstream organisations such as the National Institute on Ageing, the general advice is to be a sceptical consumer on guard for possible scams involving purported anti-ageing products.

"Our culture places great value on staying young, but ageing is normal," the institute says. "Despite claims about pills or treatments that lead to endless youth, no treatments have been proven to slow or reverse the ageing process."

Its advice for ageing well is basic: Eat a healthy diet, exercise regularly, don't smoke.

"If someone is promising you today that you can slow, stop or reverse ageing, they're likely trying hard to separate you from your money," said S. Jay Olshansky, a professor at the University of Illinois-Chicago's School of Public Health who has written extensively about ageing.

"It's always the same message: 'Ageing is your fault and we've got the cure,'" Olshansky said. "Invest in yourself, in the simple things we know work. Get a good pair of running or walking shoes and a health club membership, and eat more fruits and vegetables."

But such advice hasn't curtailed the demand for anti-ageing products, including many with hefty price tags that aren't covered by health insurance. These include cosmetic surgery procedures at $10,000 or more, human growth hormone treatment at $15,000 per year and a skin-care product called Peau Magnifique that costs $1,500 for a 28-day supply.

No gov't testing

Another challenge for consumers is that many dietary supplements and cosmetics, unlike prescription drugs and over-the-counter medicines, aren't required to undergo government testing or review before they are marketed. The Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) do crack down at times on egregiously false anti-ageing claims, but generally there's little protection for people who don't get hoped-for results.

Mary Engle, director of the FTC's division of advertising practices, said her agency focuses on the cases that could cause serious harm, such as bogus cancer treatments that might prompt an ill person to forgo proper care.

She said the agency lacks the resources to crack down comprehensively on ads with exaggerated claims that exploit customers' hopes for better looks or more energy.

"Often it doesn't rise to the level of fraud," she said. "There are so many problematic ads out there and we really have to pick and choose what we focus on."

Promoting products

In contrast to the caution of mainstream organisations, there are many vocal promoters of anti-ageing products and procedures, including the American Academy of Anti-Ageing Medicine. It hosts annual conferences in the US and abroad, and claims 22,000 members, mostly physicians.

In its mission statement, the academy says the disabilities associated with normal ageing "are caused by physiological dysfunction which in many cases are ameliorable to medical treatment, such that the human life span can be increased".

One of the academy's co-founders is Robert Goldman, a doctor of osteopathic medicine. He contends that much of the resistance to the anti-ageing movement comes from sectors of the health and pharmaceutical industries that feel threatened financially - for example, by the surging use of over-the-counter nutritional supplements.

"It all has to do with who's controlling the dollars," he said.

Though many anti-ageing interventions are expensive, Goldman said people on tight budgets still can take useful steps such as drinking purified water, taking vitamins and using sun screen.

"People should be healthy and strong well into 100 to 120 years of age," Goldman says in a biographical video. "That's what's really exciting - to live in a time period when the impossible is truly possible."

Olshansky, who over the years has been among Goldman's harshest critics, believes there will be scientific breakthroughs eventually, perhaps based on studies of the genes of long-lived people, that will help slow the rate of ageing.

In the meantime, Olshansky says, "I understand the need for personal freedom, the freedom to make bad decisions."

• 
  
  Hormone-replacement therapy

Numerous companies and clinics promote hormone replacement drugs, including testosterone for men and custom-mixed 'bioidentical' hormones for women, as a way to slow the ageing process.

Many consumers have seen ads featuring muscle-bound Dr Jeffry Life, now 72. He used testosterone and human growth hormone in his own bodybuilding regimen, and recommends hormonal therapy for some of the patients patronising his age-management practice in Las Vegas.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved hormone replacement drugs for some specific purposes related to diseases and deficiencies, but not to combat ageing.

• 
  
  Cosmetic Surgery

According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, there were 13.1 million cosmetic plastic surgery procedures performed in the United States (US) in 2010, a 77 per cent increase over a decade.

One notable trend is increased preference for less invasive procedures that enable patients to get back to work and social settings without a long leave of absence.

The most popular of these is treatment with the wrinkle-smoothing drugs Botox or Dysport. They account for 5.4 million procedures, averaging about $400 per treatment. Other popular non-invasive procedures include soft-tissue facial fillers, chemical peels and microdermabrasion.

More invasive procedures come at a higher price. Facelifts can run from $6,000 to $15,000; the plastic surgeons' academy reported performing 112,000 of them in 2010.

• 
  
  Skin care

One of the industry's booming sectors is anti-ageing skin care, featuring wrinkle creams and facial serums. By some estimates, the US market for cosmeceutical products - cosmetics with medicine-based ingredients - is approaching $20 billion a year.

The FDA, which oversees cosmetic safety and labelling, doesn't require manufacturers to prove the effectiveness of cosmetic products before they go on sale, and many ads make claims which critics say are exaggerated or unverifiable. The American Academy of Dermatology recommends consulting a dermatologist on what skin care products have been proved safe and effective in human studies.

Consumer Reports has ventured into the realm of anti-ageing cosmetics several times recently, using high-tech optical devices and other scientific methods to assess the products.

Last year, the magazine tested nine face serums, available at drug stores for prices ranging from $20 to $65, and all claiming to reduce wrinkles.

"After six weeks of use, the effectiveness of even the best products was limited and varied from subject to subject," according to the review. "When we did see wrinkle reductions, they were at best slight, and they fell short of the miracles that manufacturers seemed to imply on product labels."

Earlier, the magazine tested wrinkle creams.

"Even the best performers reduced the average depth of wrinkles by less than 10 per cent, a magnitude of change that was, alas, barely visible to the naked eye," it said.

Its top-rated product, Olay Regenerist, cost about $19 at the time of the testing. La Prairie Cellular, the most expensive at $335, was rated among the least effective.

Similar conclusions were reached in testing 16 over-the-counter eye creams.