PT: Cloning, Growth acceleration, and more

Something I found rather confusing in Star Wars is the whole cloning/growth acceleration/lifespan thing. The Kaminoans say they use growth-accelerated clones, which makes them age twice as fast. Then in BFII, there’s the “Journal of the 501st”… Presumably narrated by one clone. Let’s say he’s “20” (10) in Geonosis. Episode Three, 26. Episode Four, 64. Episode Five, 70. Considering that growth acceleration would make them 70 by Episode Five, I think that once they reach 10 (20), the acceleration is somehow stopped.

Now another thing to do with age. It seems in Star Wars people have average lifespans. ~75. Yet if they are as technologically advanced as they appear, lifespans would presumably be longer. Without further complications, the human body could last around 120 years. Now there’s somethingpeculiar in Shadows of the Empire. Xizor comments on the Emporer’s freaky appearence, and notes “he isn’t even that old.” In SOTE, the Emporer would be 85 or 86. Yet other characters pass away from “natural causes” at much younger ages.

Well, in the films the only natural death is Yoda, and he's 900.

I guess that explains that mystery--Yoda's not an alien after all!

Now it all makes sense.

~or~

I stopped trying to reconcile the PT with the OT or EU-pre-PT a long time ago.

*snark!*

 Now there's somethingpeculiar in Shadows of the Empire. Xizor comments on the Emporer's freaky appearence, and notes "he isn't even that old." In SOTE, the Emporer would be 85 or 86. Yet other characters pass away from "natural causes" at much younger ages.

Are you using the prequels version of Palpatine to determine his age?  Say what you want about SOTE, but it is 100% prequel free.

*sigh*

Fans obsess more about these details than GL does ... ;)

Anyway... The Emperor being 85 in SOTE seems to be about right, if we start counting from Ian McDiarmid's real age in TPM (age 55), add 10 years until the Clone Wars, and then 20 to the OT. Although, I think there are also a couple of them between ANH and SOTE.

I would think that using the Dark Side of the Force also speeds up aging for both The Emperor and Darth Vader.

As to the general citizens: There are many races, living in many environments. Not all of them are living on Chandrila or Alderaan with it's low, wealthy population and clean air. Many are living lives full of stress, drugs, pollution with an unhealthy diet and lack of exercise like humans on Earth in the real world.