Your Life Expectancy: Living A Long and Sick Life
According to a new study, people are living longer but with more illnesses and disabilities than ever before.
While our life expectancy has improved due to numerous advances in technology, our healthy life expectancy has not followed suit. People are living for a longer amount of time but with more illnesses and disabilities, according to a new analysis published in the Lancet Journal that used data from 188 countries.
A professor at the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington and leader of the analysis, Theo Vos, stated, “The world has made great progress in health, but now the challenge is to invest in finding more effective ways of preventing or treating the major causes of illness and disability.”
You get no warning sign when it comes to experiencing an illness or disability, as unless you’ve spent your whole life with one, they can occur completely by surprise.
But if there was a way to prevent or treat the major illnesses and disabilities, it would make everyone’s life significantly easier.
Results of the Study
The study found that “global life expectancy at birth for both sexes rose by 6.2 years – from 65.3 in 1990 to 71.5 in 2013. Healthy life expectancy at birth rose by 5.4 years – from 56.9 in 1990 to 62.3 in 2013.” Healthy life expectancy, in this case, includes mortality, impact of “non-fatal conditions”, and chronic illnesses. The study does more than suggest that it does not have a direct relationship with the global life expectancy.
According to the study and News Daily, “For most of the 188 countries studied, changes in healthy life expectancy between 1990 and 2013 were “significant and positive”, the researchers said. However in May – among them Belize, Botswana and Syria – healthy life expectancy in 2013 was not much higher than in 1990.” Healthy Life expectancy has even dropped in some countries like South Africa, Paraguay, Belarus, Lesotho and Swaziland. There were also major differences in the countries with the highest and lowest healthy life expectancies.
Health Changes to Prolong Your Life?
According to the University of Cambridge and the Medical Research Council, there are four health changes that can prolong your life for 14 years. These changes include limiting your alcohol consumption, quitting smoking exercising regularly, and eating five servings of fruits and vegetables each day.Overwhelming evidence has shown that these things contribute to healthier and longer lives, but the new study actually quantified their combined impact, the British team said. Read the full study by clicking here!
Source: http://newsdaily.com
