Brother Brigham was obviously full of something when he said that by living the Word of Wisdom, we should all easily be able to attain at least two hundred years of age ("The Word of Wisdom—Degeneracy—Wickedness in the United States—How to Prolong Life", Journal of Discourses, Volume 12, pp. 117-123). Yet by pushing the evolutionary envelope, it theoretically would be possible to increase the life span of humans through selective breeding.
I am currently reading "The Selfish Gene" by Richard Dawkins. This idea comes from there. If we restrict having children until age 40, then after several generations, bump it up to 50, then 60, and so on, eventually, the 'old-age' diseases that are hereditary, including old age itself, would be selectively bred out. On paper, this sounds all fine and dandy, but first off, it would be very difficult to accomplish, and second, we have no idea what the side effects would be. Maybe nature would trade off the shorter life span for a smaller brain. We then would all live long lives as idiots. :) In the process, it is possible that much of the human gene pool would go extinct, which could also cause problems.
But this is certainly a much more scientifically founded idea than 'no hot drinks, alcohol, or tobacco' will make our marrow and sinews stronger, enabling us to live hundreds of years.
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