You can expect to live longer but the going might not be so good

Are you planning on being a centenarian ?

Statistically your odds of reaching this milestone have improved, but the latter years may be pretty awful, as you battle one of a range of debilitating illnesses.

Increased life expectancy is being accompanied by a decrease in life quality. Translated this means medical science can keep you going for longer…… but the going is often not so good !

Crunch the numbers

Lets try to put some kind of number on this statement so you really understand what it is saying ……… imagine that you are an average 20 year old male.

You celebrate your 20^th birthday in 1998. All things being equal, you should live another 45 years without coming face to face with one of the big three killers : cardiovascular disease, cancer of diabetes i.e. your troubles would begin around 65 years.

Lets fast forward a little so you are now the same guy turning 20 years old in 2006. Now you can expect your troubles to start when you are 63 and a bit years old.

If you’re thinking that men are weak and pathetic when it comes to longevity so this is skewing the stats. Same deal applies to women. In 1998 you would have lived 49.2 years before encountering one of the big three, a decade later it’s down to 48 years.

You ‘ve got to die of something

So what is the big deal – you have to die of something. Problem is that the big three kill you slowly. Bit by bit.

One way to measure how well you are living, is to assess your functional mobility. Functional mobility is a fancy term describing your ability to do the basic stuff necessary to take care of yourself. If it goes for a loop you won’t be able to climb 10 steps, walk a quarter of a mile, stand or sit for 2 hours, and stand, bend or kneel without special equipment.

The 20 year old male today can expect to spend 5.8 years without basic mobility, whereas the 1998 guy would have expected to endure this for 3.8 years.

Women tend to go on in this state for longer than men. So the 20 year old today is expecting the trouble for 9.8 years, whereas a decade ago it was 7.3 years.

This is going to cost a fortune

Keeping yourself going, in a half cocked state for longer, will cost money. Lots of it. The money will be spent on both medical care, as well as paying someone to help take care of you.

Invest in your future. Aim to get a handle on the 7 Big Spoons™, getting these 7 things under control, increases the chances that you will live well not just longer.

Mortality and Morbidity Trends: Is There Compression of Morbidity? The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 2010; 66B (1): 75 E. M. Crimmins, H. Beltran-Sanchez.

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