Walter Michael Bortz II (March 20, 1930 – August 5, 2023) was an American physician and author who taught medicine at Stanford University. He conducted research on aging and promoted the possibility of a 100-year lifespan.[1]
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. As of 2018[update] he was working on his ninth, tentatively titled Aging is Negotiable.[2]
Bortz was the son of Ed Bortz, former president of the American Medical Association.[3] Bortz lived in Portola Valley, California. 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.[4]
^Reviewed in Levin-Scherz, J. (March 23/30, 2011) Journal of the American Medical Association305(12):1244 and Krall, R.L. (April 8, 2011) "A Call to Reorient Healthcare" Science332:177
