President Biden Is Turning 80. Experts Say Age Is More Than a Number.

WASHINGTON — President Biden has said it is a “legitimate question to ask anybody over 70 years old whether or not they’re fit” to serve in the White House. To those who question his fitness, he has a stock answer: “Watch me.”

On Sunday, Mr. Biden turns 80 — a number he tries never to utter in public. “I can’t even say the age I am going to be,” Mr. Biden said in a recent interview with MSNBC. “I can’t even get it out of my mouth.”

Also left unsaid is that Mr. Biden would be 86 at the end of a second term, should he run in 2024 and win — a fact that his critics have seized upon and that gives even some Democrats pause.

But while the risk of life-threatening diseases, dementia and death rises faster with each passing decade of a person’s life, experts in geriatrics say that people in their 80s who are active, engaged and have a sense of purpose can remain productive and healthy — and that wisdom and experience are important factors to consider.WASHINGTON — President Biden has said it is a “legitimate question to ask anybody over 70 years old whether or not they’re fit” to serve in the White House. To those who question his fitness, he has a stock answer: “Watch me.”

On Sunday, Mr. Biden turns 80 — a number he tries never to utter in public. “I can’t even say the age I am going to be,” Mr. Biden said in a recent interview with MSNBC. “I can’t even get it out of my mouth.”

Also left unsaid is that Mr. Biden would be 86 at the end of a second term, should he run in 2024 and win — a fact that his critics have seized upon and that gives even some Democrats pause.

But while the risk of life-threatening diseases, dementia and death rises faster with each passing decade of a person’s life, experts in geriatrics say that people in their 80s who are active, engaged and have a sense of purpose can remain productive and healthy — and that wisdom and experience are important factors to consider.WASHINGTON — President Biden has said it is a “legitimate question to ask anybody over 70 years old whether or not they’re fit” to serve in the White House. To those who question his fitness, he has a stock answer: “Watch me.”

On Sunday, Mr. Biden turns 80 — a number he tries never to utter in public. “I can’t even say the age I am going to be,” Mr. Biden said in a recent interview with MSNBC. “I can’t even get it out of my mouth.”

Also left unsaid is that Mr. Biden would be 86 at the end of a second term, should he run in 2024 and win — a fact that his critics have seized upon and that gives even some Democrats pause.

But while the risk of life-threatening diseases, dementia and death rises faster with each passing decade of a person’s life, experts in geriatrics say that people in their 80s who are active, engaged and have a sense of purpose can remain productive and healthy — and that wisdom and experience are important factors to consider.WASHINGTON — President Biden has said it is a “legitimate question to ask anybody over 70 years old whether or not they’re fit” to serve in the White House. To those who question his fitness, he has a stock answer: “Watch me.”

On Sunday, Mr. Biden turns 80 — a number he tries never to utter in public. “I can’t even say the age I am going to be,” Mr. Biden said in a recent interview with MSNBC. “I can’t even get it out of my mouth.”

Also left unsaid is that Mr. Biden would be 86 at the end of a second term, should he run in 2024 and win — a fact that his critics have seized upon and that gives even some Democrats pause.

But while the risk of life-threatening diseases, dementia and death rises faster with each passing decade of a person’s life, experts in geriatrics say that people in their 80s who are active, engaged and have a sense of purpose can remain productive and healthy — and that wisdom and experience are important factors to consider.WASHINGTON — President Biden has said it is a “legitimate question to ask anybody over 70 years old whether or not they’re fit” to serve in the White House. To those who question his fitness, he has a stock answer: “Watch me.”

On Sunday, Mr. Biden turns 80 — a number he tries never to utter in public. “I can’t even say the age I am going to be,” Mr. Biden said in a recent interview with MSNBC. “I can’t even get it out of my mouth.”

Also left unsaid is that Mr. Biden would be 86 at the end of a second term, should he run in 2024 and win — a fact that his critics have seized upon and that gives even some Democrats pause.

But while the risk of life-threatening diseases, dementia and death rises faster with each passing decade of a person’s life, experts in geriatrics say that people in their 80s who are active, engaged and have a sense of purpose can remain productive and healthy — and that wisdom and experience are important factors to consider.WASHINGTON — President Biden has said it is a “legitimate question to ask anybody over 70 years old whether or not they’re fit” to serve in the White House. To those who question his fitness, he has a stock answer: “Watch me.”

On Sunday, Mr. Biden turns 80 — a number he tries never to utter in public. “I can’t even say the age I am going to be,” Mr. Biden said in a recent interview with MSNBC. “I can’t even get it out of my mouth.”

Also left unsaid is that Mr. Biden would be 86 at the end of a second term, should he run in 2024 and win — a fact that his critics have seized upon and that gives even some Democrats pause.

But while the risk of life-threatening diseases, dementia and death rises faster with each passing decade of a person’s life, experts in geriatrics say that people in their 80s who are active, engaged and have a sense of purpose can remain productive and healthy — and that wisdom and experience are important factors to consider.WASHINGTON — President Biden has said it is a “legitimate question to ask anybody over 70 years old whether or not they’re fit” to serve in the White House. To those who question his fitness, he has a stock answer: “Watch me.”

On Sunday, Mr. Biden turns 80 — a number he tries never to utter in public. “I can’t even say the age I am going to be,” Mr. Biden said in a recent interview with MSNBC. “I can’t even get it out of my mouth.”

Also left unsaid is that Mr. Biden would be 86 at the end of a second term, should he run in 2024 and win — a fact that his critics have seized upon and that gives even some Democrats pause.

But while the risk of life-threatening diseases, dementia and death rises faster with each passing decade of a person’s life, experts in geriatrics say that people in their 80s who are active, engaged and have a sense of purpose can remain productive and healthy — and that wisdom and experience are important factors to consider.WASHINGTON — President Biden has said it is a “legitimate question to ask anybody over 70 years old whether or not they’re fit” to serve in the White House. To those who question his fitness, he has a stock answer: “Watch me.”

On Sunday, Mr. Biden turns 80 — a number he tries never to utter in public. “I can’t even say the age I am going to be,” Mr. Biden said in a recent interview with MSNBC. “I can’t even get it out of my mouth.”

Also left unsaid is that Mr. Biden would be 86 at the end of a second term, should he run in 2024 and win — a fact that his critics have seized upon and that gives even some Democrats pause.

But while the risk of life-threatening diseases, dementia and death rises faster with each passing decade of a person’s life, experts in geriatrics say that people in their 80s who are active, engaged and have a sense of purpose can remain productive and healthy — and that wisdom and experience are important factors to consider.WASHINGTON — President Biden has said it is a “legitimate question to ask anybody over 70 years old whether or not they’re fit” to serve in the White House. To those who question his fitness, he has a stock answer: “Watch me.”

On Sunday, Mr. Biden turns 80 — a number he tries never to utter in public. “I can’t even say the age I am going to be,” Mr. Biden said in a recent interview with MSNBC. “I can’t even get it out of my mouth.”

Also left unsaid is that Mr. Biden would be 86 at the end of a second term, should he run in 2024 and win — a fact that his critics have seized upon and that gives even some Democrats pause.

But while the risk of life-threatening diseases, dementia and death rises faster with each passing decade of a person’s life, experts in geriatrics say that people in their 80s who are active, engaged and have a sense of purpose can remain productive and healthy — and that wisdom and experience are important factors to consider.