In evolutionary terms, yes. According to British biochemist Nick Lane, the more we spend our resources on begetting and raising children, the less we have left in reserve for prolonging our lives. By resources he means energy, energy on the cellular level. He also makes some interesting points about the ineffectiveness of calorie restriction and the problem with taking too many antioxidants.
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People with children tend to live longer, I’ve read.
I think Nick Lane was speaking about the evolutionary trade off made by species that use sex for recombining genes led to less benefit to long life (like a tortoise) vs faster maturity (like a mouse). Competition is key for adapting to changing environmental conditions (predators, parasites, viruses, energy availability). There are winners and there are losers in the competition to create better genes.
In other words, “Life’s not fair”
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I would argue than children give you the ultimate ikigai. Part of the reason why I am so fascinated by longevity and striving for a long lifespan is sheer curiosity on how they turn out. I would like to live to at least 100 to see my great grand children. I also feel like I am paving the way for them, so they can learn from successes or failures.
Moreover, when you turn 100 I imagine most our friends or spouse will be gone and having a family will keep one from being completely alone and isolated. I actually have patients like this - childless, family members passed away - they are completely alone, other than some casual friends.
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