Why Are People Living Longer These Days?

People have a longer lifespan these days compared to 100 years ago. I realize the advances in medical science has made it possible but there's also so many chemicals, additives in foodstuffs today. Food is what fuels a person, without it you'd be dead but food was pure 100 years ago. Today is so much processed trash.

Re: Why Are People Living Longer These Days?

Easier lives, many in hard manual jobs still don't make it to retirement age, those with easier physical jobs seem to last longer, and we can't ignore medical intervention, we bring back from the brink far more now, heart attacks, breathing stopped but we still bring them back.

Re: Why Are People Living Longer These Days?

A doctor once told me that he believes that we will die younger than our parents and our children will follow that trend. His reasoning? Our parents lived through the war and rationing, didn't have cars or other modern conveniences. Their lifestyle was healthier, they ate less fatty and sugar rich foods and there was more exercise in their daily lives. At the same time, medical advances and nutrition were improving.
Now we have growing obesity, falling exercise rates, and pollution on a totally different scale. Maybe no more smog, but pollutants that are far more insidious and poisonous. We abuse antibiotics and so our natural resistance suffers. There is much greater stress in our lives now and most of the population manages that stress in totally inappropriate ways.
That was his view and I find it difficult to disagree with him. Gloomy thought ain't it?

Re: Why Are People Living Longer These Days?

I think it's mainly down to better hygiene practices and of course medical advances, but lets not forget the humble pint of Guinness, my Dad always had his daily pint and he lived to be 94, a very cheerful man and a great believer in alcohol in moderation, it's not doing me any harm either.

I don't really think it matters how old you live to be, once you made the best of the years you had is all that counts, if you've been a cranky old git all your life it'll just mean prolonging the agony for yourself and others. I can imagine a child saying in the future " Nanny, Grandad is 150 tomorrow and he's still complaining" "Don't mind him Son, he'll never change"

Re: Why Are People Living Longer These Days?

Quite so, it is good to know when you have reached your tolerance level.

Re: Why Are People Living Longer These Days?

I agree with Jem it is down to science and medicine. Infant mortality now is less than a fifth of what it was in the 1950s, a couple of centuries ago something like only one in five children made it to 10 years old.

Infant mortality has an enormous effect on life expectancy.

Re: Why Are People Living Longer These Days?

Speaking of infant mortality a century ago, I once read that when a baby or child died, the parents would have a painting or a photo taken of the dead child (as if he/she was still alive).

Sometimes when I've seen framed old photos of kids in antique shops, etc. I get a little unnerved wondering if it was really a dead baby.

Re: Why Are People Living Longer These Days?

Most of the really deadly diseases have pretty much been eradicated particularly in 1st world countries, and there are vaccines for many of the other things that used to kill people. Smallpox is gone. We don't even vaccinate for it now. We also have better sanitation. Dysentary from drinking water isn't something we worry about in our countries.