Taupō's Dr Doug Wilson, 83, named Senior New Zealander of the Year

Taupō author, scientist and researcher Dr Doug Wilson, 83, was is the 2021 Ryman Healthcare Senior New Zealander of the Year. Photo / Laurilee McMichael

How did Taupō author, medical academic, researcher and now aging expert Dr Doug Wilson feel about being named Senior New Zealander of the Year? In a word: startled.

Doug, 83, chuckles as he recounts the events of the evening of March 31, when he joined the gala dinner for the announcement of the 2021 Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year / Ngā Tohu Pou Kōhure o Aotearoa.

Doug already knew he was one of the three finalists for the award but says he was very surprised to be named winner.

"I was a bit startled, actually ... I didn't expect that at all. It was very, very exciting and I was very grateful to get it ... it was a wonderful experience."

What's more, when he made his way up on stage to accept the award, Doug had to make a speech and did so with aplomb, raising a few laughs but with a serious message about the challenges the country faces as the population ages. In 10 years, a quarter of New Zealand's population will be over 65, Doug told the audience.

"We're growing at such an extraordinary rate, we're accumulating older people, and there they are, sitting around, wondering what to do," he said.

"The important thing is that when you're older, you have to get past the stage of thinking you're past it, because you're not; you have to get past the stage of saying 'well, I don't really have a purpose', because most people can; and I think we have to understand the older community far better than we have before.

"Importantly, the young and the old have to talk together.

"The future is talking together, the future is getting together, the future is recognising the old people are not past it but the old people have themselves to learn to contribute."

Doug says that what was particularly lovely about winning the award was that after the ceremony many of the younger people at the event came up to talk to him.

"I was amazed ... some of the stuff they are doing, technological advances and imaginative ways to address tough problems, and I found that both fascinating and very hopeful."

Doug says although he's not perfect, he is trying to follow his own advice on dealing with aging as best he can. He has never retired, works an estimated 60 to 70 hours a week and goes to the gym twice weekly plus an exercise group.

Becoming an expert on aging was an unintended outcome for Doug, who studied medicine after leaving school, then got a PhD from the University of London, and built an international career specialising in biomedicine and pharmaceuticals. He was the first United States and then global head of medical research for Boehringer Ingelheim, a major international pharmaceutical company based in Germany, and for years regularly commuted between New York and Frankfurt.

He first became interested in research into aging in 1981 after coming across a study in a journal during a sabbatical year at Oxford University.

"I worked in one of the great Oxford scientific libraries, the Radcliffe Science Library, and it meant from time to time I wandered a little," he recalls of his tendency to browse the extensive collection of journals at the library.

"One of the things I learned was that if you are a bus conductor in London, you lived longer if you worked on a double-decker bus than a single decker bus. The bus conductors is a classic study these days because it relates to people's cardiovascular fitness, going up and down the bus stairs all day long."

Doug Wilson also writes books for children and young adults. He is pictured with one of his recent books, Zeke Battle: Earthquake Boy. Photo / Laurilee McMichael

Doug's interest in aging was also piqued by the fact that both his parents were long-lived - his mother until 97, and his father just a few weeks shy of 100.

"I did see my parents were unusual and I wondered what my chances are [of living a long life].

During Doug's career in the pharmaceutical industry he worked with teams developing new treatments and drugs and part of that included assessing effectiveness on different age groups, from children to the elderly.

"That continued my interest and so I followed the aging changes. I did a small review for the company when I left, about the impact of aging."

For the past three decades, Doug has kept abreast of the latest research and developments into aging and in 2017 he distilled this information into a book, Aging for Beginners. Just this week, he has released his follow-up, Aging Well, on strategies for living a longer, healthier life. He lists the top four interventions for aging well as exercise, diet, close relationships and keeping the brain active.

All this has led to him finding an entirely new career as an aging expert. He produces podcast series Aging for Beginners, gives public lectures, writes blogs for Ryman and Age Concern and makes regular appearances on Kim Hill's Saturday Morning show on RNZ National. He has also fulfilled a lifelong dream to become a writer, publishing 11 children's books. He is on the board of directors of AFT Pharmaceuticals and clinical governance committee for Ryman Healthcare and says despite having early Parkinson's he is doing well for somebody nearly in his mid-80s.

"Some people are ashamed of getting older. I don't see why. My back is buggered and I've shrunk in height but I can participate with reasonable competence."