The Race for Youth | France 5 | Le Monde en face

From plastic surgery to hormone injections by way of miracle pills, the various methods of protecting ourselves from the passage of time are many. But they are not without risk. We have never lived for so long, that is sure. However, the final years of our existence are far from being the most pleasant. Our bodies let us down, our minds escape us. In our societies where one must always be younger and fitter, old age is seen by some as a disease that should be treated, if not eradicated. Is that possible? Has old age become an option? We have met men and women who are prepared to try all the elixirs of youth. It is a fashion that is gaining ground in France after having won over America: testosterone. The hormone is said to work miracles on aging males: supposedly restoring strength, potency and passion. Five million American men inject themselves with hormones to forget their age, without concerning themselves over side effects. In Paris, Ariana, 52, is convinced that to stay young, you have to make” young. In order to lose ten years, she is going to undergo chemical peeling: a deep burning of the epidermis. For ten days she will undergo torture, but the promised result is spectacular. To halt time is the ultimate fantasy. A pill could make that possible, thanks to a discovery relating to telomeres, the capping that protects our DNA. It’s a godsend for an anti-aging market that is craving to expand. Can we grow younger from inside, by working on our cells? Some people want to believe it and are testing what claims to be the miracle pill. Thanks to the progress of science, humanity has never been closer to cracking the secret of eternal youth. A multimillion-dollar market is beginning to emerge. So does the pill of youth exist? And if, deep down, we all have the irresistible desire to live as long as possible, what would a society in which everybody lived to 150 look like?”