Walter Michael Bortz II (March 20, 1930 – August 5, 2023) was an American physician and author who taught medicine at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

. He conducted research on aging and promoted the possibility of a 100-year lifespan.

Education

Bortz attended the Episcopal Academy of Philadelphia in 1947. He graduated from

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a col ...

with a B.A.

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

in 1951 and graduated from the

University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine The Perelman School of Medicine, commonly known as Penn Med, is the medical school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1765, the Perelman School of Medicine is the oldest medi ...

in 1955.

Career

Bortz was co-chairman of the American Medical Association's Task Force on Aging, past President of The American Geriatrics Society and was Chairman of the Medical Advisory Board for the Diabetes Research and Wellness Foundation. His research focused on the importance of physical exercise during the process of aging. Bortz wrote 150 scientific articles for research publications such as JAMA, Annals of Internal Medicine, and Journal of Biological Chemistry, as well as articles in The New York Times, Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, The New England Journal of Medicine, American Journal of Public Health, and Town & Country. Bortz wrote eight books including ''We Live Too Short and Die Too Long'', ''Dare to be 100'', ''Living Longer for Dummies'', ''Diabetes Danger'', ''Next Medicine'', and ''Occupy Medicine''. he was working on his ninth, tentatively titled ''Aging is Negotiable''.

Personal life and death

Bortz was the son of Ed Bortz, former president of the American Medical Association. Bortz lived in

Portola Valley, California Portola Valley is a town in San Mateo County, California. Located on the San Francisco Peninsula in the Bay Area, Portola Valley is a small, wealthy community nestled on the eastern slopes of the Santa Cruz Mountains. History Portola Val ...

. He had four children and nine grandchildren. A runner for several decades, Bortz ran over 10 miles per week and has finished in over 30 marathons, including the New York and Boston marathons. Bortz died at his Portola Valley home on August 5, 2023, at the age of 93.

Awards

* Paavo Nurmi Award, Runners World Magazine 1986 * University of California, San Francisco - Institute for Health & Aging, Distinguished Leadership Award 1990 * Kenneth Cooper Award for Scientific Contribution to Active Living George Sheehan Award - National Fitness Leader's Association 1996 * American Society on Aging, Presidential Award 2002 * Avenidas Lifetime Achievement Award, Palo Alto, CA 2007

References

External links

Bortz's website

Factsheet on Walter Bortz

Palo Alto Online article

Stanford University podcast with Walter Bortz (April 29, 2011)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bortz, Walter II 1930 births 2023 deaths Williams College alumni Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania alumni American geriatricians People from Portola Valley, California