Robert Douglas Young

Robert Douglas Young (born May 2, 1974 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida) is a gerontology consultant and researcher best known for validating supercentenarian cases and debunking longevity claims. He is the current Senior Consultant for Gerontology for Guinness World Records (since 2005) and the Senior Claims Researcher for the Gerontology Research Group (since 1999). Young has worked on several books, including Guinness World Records editions 2009, 2008, 2007, 2005 and 1997, World Almanac 2004, The Wisdom of the World's Oldest People (2005), by Jerry Friedman (whose photographic exhibits of supercentenarians were presented at the United Nations in July 2006), and Living in Three Centuries (2006), by Mark Story.

Young graduated summa cum laude from Georgia State University in 2006, with a Bachelor of History degree and an Undergraduate Certificate in Gerontology. In August 2008, Young obtained a Master of Arts in Gerontology degree from Georgia State University. He is now a graduate student persuing a second Masters in History at GSU.

Robert has, since 1999, maintained lists of the world's oldest people for the Gerontology Research Group, and has also worked with the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, the New England Centenarian Study and the Social Security Administration in attempts to establish a global database on the world's oldest people. Jean-Marie Robine of France, validator of the Jeanne Calment case, worked with INSERM to establish the International Database on Longevity in 2005. Young is now a listed contributor as of 2010.

Young is also a founding member of the Supercentenarian Research Foundation in 2004.

Robert's Masters thesis, titled "African-American Longevity Advantage: Myth or Reality? A Racial Comparison of Supercentenarian Data" won the 2008 ESPO award from the Gerontology Society of America for the best interdiscplinary graduate paper in gerontology in 2008 on November 22. This was the only national-level graduate paper awarded in 2008. The thesis answers a century-old question among demographers: is the cross-over effect (i.e., the statistical tendency of African-Americans to have a higher life expectancy after age 80 than their Caucasian-American counterparts) among the African-American population real, or simply due to age misreporting?

Validated cases

Young has provided a list of credits for each individual case; some are shared. They can be found on the GRG website.

Debunked cases

The number of cases he debunked is over 100, and here are a few of the most significant ones:

William Coates, February 2004 (claimed 114; actually 92).

James Henry Brett, Jr., July 2006 (claimed 111, actually 96).

Toby Crosby March 8, 2007 (claimed 122; actually 96).

Mary Ramsey Wood July 29, 2007 (claimed 120; more probably 97).

Noah Raby August 14, 2007 (claimed 131; more probably 81).

Micajah Weiss October 7, 2007 (claimed 114; more likely 99).

References

http://etd.gsu.edu/theses/available/etd-07182008-143721/unrestricted/young_robert_d_200808_masters.pdf

External links

• "Gerontology Research Group" http://www.grg.org/
• "Guinness World Records" http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/
• "Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research" http://www.demogr.mpg.de/
• "New England Centenarian Study" http://www.bumc.bu.edu/Dept/Home.aspx?DepartmentID=361
• "New England Supercentenarian Study" http://www.bumc.bu.edu/Dept/Home.aspx?DepartmentID=505
• "International Database on Longevity" http://www.supercentenarians.org/
• "Earth's Elders Foundation" http://www.earthselders.org/
• "World's Oldest People" http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Worlds_Oldest_People/

Popular media:

• http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5293436.stm

Scientific media:

• http://www.globalaging.org/health/us/2006/longevityclues.htm

Scientific literature:

• http://www.demografie.de/calendar/files/51736.8836975098-Workshop%20Program.pdf
• http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1089/rej.2005.8.274
• http://biomed.gerontologyjournals.org/cgi/content/full/59/6/B579/TA1