Asked how long they'd like to live in good health, most Singaporeans said 60 to 90 years

Longevity research is moving from labs toward people, and with it comes a practical question: would anyone actually take a pill to age more slowly? A new survey from Singapore offers one of the more careful answers so far, and a surprise about how long people want to live.

The study, led by Sonny Rosenthal of Singapore Management University with colleagues at the National University of Singapore, was published on November 6 in Frontiers in Aging. Its methods and hypotheses were registered in advance.

The setup

Between June and August 2024, trained research assistants went door to door at addresses sampled across Singapore's regions and housing types. In each home, they asked the adult with the next birthday to take part. People could answer online or on paper, in any of Singapore's four official languages. After quality checks, 2,003 responses remained.

Respondents were asked about their life goals, such as personal growth, community, wealth, image and health. They were asked how long they would want to live if they stayed in optimal physical and mental health. And they read a short description of "health optimization medications": existing drugs, such as metformin, that researchers are studying for possible effects on aging. They then said how willing they would be to take one, and how they saw its benefits, risks and costs.

What people said

The lifespan answers were modest. About 65% chose more than 60 and up to 90 years, even with good health guaranteed. Only about 8% wanted to live beyond 120. The authors contrast this with an American survey in which, under similar framing, most people wanted to pass 120. They suggest culture may shape these preferences as much as health does.

About a third of respondents said they would be willing to take a health optimization medication. Willingness rose with age and did not differ by gender, education or ethnicity.

What shaped willingness

The researchers expected that people with bigger life goals would want longer lives, and that wanting a longer life would make them more open to such drugs. The first link held, but it was weak. The second did not: how long people wanted to live had no link with whether they would take the medication.

What mattered more were practical judgments. People were more willing if they believed the drugs would work, and if they worried about developing long-term illness. They were less willing if they saw health risks or ethical problems. Belief that the drugs work was the strongest factor. Together, these perceptions explained about 39% of the differences in willingness.

What to keep in mind

This is a survey of attitudes, not a study of whether any drug slows aging. The sample was older and more educated than Singapore as a whole. Several measures were single questions, and the lifespan question used wide 30-year bands. The authors also note that the description of the medications was reassuring about safety, which may have raised willingness. The study was funded by a National University of Singapore startup grant, and the authors declared no competing interests.

Where Soma fits

The finding we keep coming back to is that people care less about extra years than about whether something actually works for them. That is a reasonable standard for any habit, too. Soma doesn't measure aging or recommend medication. The Soma app, not yet available, will read the heart, sleep and activity data that your phone and watch already store in Apple Health, so you can see what is changing in your own numbers over time.

Sources, as of November 7, 2026: Rosenthal, Wang, Szücs, Sandalova and Maier, "Life aspirations, risk-benefit perceptions, and public acceptance of candidate gerotherapeutic medications: a preregistered national survey in Singapore," Frontiers in Aging, doi 10.3389/fragi.2026.1908097, published under CC BY 4.0. This post describes research and isn't medical advice.