[2] Fries' hypothesis is that the burden of lifetime illness may be compressed into a shorter period before the time of death, if the age of onset of the first chronic infirmity can be postponed.
[4] Fries posited that if the hypothesis is confirmed, healthcare costs and patient health overall will be improved.
[3] In order to confirm this hypothesis, the evidence must show that it is possible to delay the onset of infirmity, and that corresponding increases in longevity will at least be modest.
Generational improvements in education and the increased availability of adaptive technologies and even medical treatments that enhance quality of life have facilitated continued independence of older persons in the industrialized world.
Whether this trend continues may depend upon the effect of the obesity epidemic on the next generation of older people.