Americans continue to equate aging with the loss of quality of life, says a poll conducted by ABC News and USA Today on October 12-16, 2005. Reflecting some ignorance of just how far we've come, and an unfortunate dose of pessimism, almost two thirds of those polled said that you couldn't live to 100 years old and still enjoy life.

Optimism grows with age: Only 45% of a subset of those aged 65 and older were concerned about aging, compared to 57% of those polled that were younger than 65.

Overall, the most cited concern related to aging was health, reported by 78% of women and 68% of men. Other aging-related concerns that topped the list were running out of money, not being able to drive, and becoming a burden to their families.

According to the poll, one becomes elderly at 71 years old, and 87 was the average ideal longevity. This surpasses Americans' current average life span of 78 by almost a decade, although consider this goal a moving target: centenarians (those living past 100 years) comprise the fastest-growing age segment in US society, followed by those 85 years and older.