One way of defining longevity is the amount of years a person lives as established from physiological inheritance or one’s genes with environmental factors thrown in for good measure. Two kinds of longevity exist and they are known as maximum longevity and average longevity.
Average longevity is normally recognized as average life expectancy; this referring to that age that sees fifty percent of the people who were born in a particular year perishing. Maximum longevity refers to the specific most elderly age any individual actually achieves. As mentioned above, there are a few factors that affect longevity and average longevity is shaped by those same aspects.
A person’s life span also means the same as average life expectancy. This too is affected by a number of things like susceptibility to illness and disease, murders, suicide and accidental death. Average life expectancy is estimated at any age and for the greatest majority it is approximately thirty thousand days. As always there are those privileged minority who manage to last for about forty thousand days. It is interesting that two thousand years ago the average human life expectancy was approximately seven thousand days.
These extremely short and cruel survival challenges that passed for a life were affected by many variables, any one of which could snuff out life by itself. These included dangerous bacteria, accidental death or injury, dangerous predators, weather fluctuation and erratic and unreliable sources of food. These life challenges were only a problem of course if the individual actually survived their birth. The mortality rate of babies was between three and four hundred for each one thousand live births just a couple hundred years ago. Contrast that with today where only seven out of one thousand births results in infant death.
Of all the nations in the world, Japan is on top with average life longevity of approximately eighty years of age according to statistics provided by government agencies. The same for the United States, where any infant born now could reasonably expect to survive upwards of seventy seven years of age. The longevity age of nations around the plant continue to move upwards and not simply in the industrialized countries.
Longevity is something that has recently seen a dramatic surge in the level of interest from the science and medical communities; both doing their part to keep the number rising. Unfortunately there are a number of factors from an environmental and clinical perspective that impact the average longevity of humans:
• Medical conditions such as cardiovascular illness and Alzheimer’s disease;
• The lifestyle choices you make such as smoking or excessive alcohol consumption or a lack of exercise, all affect average longevity;
• Ecological toxicity – environmental contaminants we live with such as polluted water and smog are a constant concern for our health and longevity. Heavy metal in fish, bacteria and cancer causing agents found in our potable water and airborne toxicity are each major contributors to shortened life expectancy;
• Societal ranking has an impact on life expectancy as well based on a reduction of availability to necessary essential services and life sustaining products. Universal access to medical treatment is an ongoing concern for most governments and the minority people in any community are the ones paying the price. Lack of status means insufficient rights to proper care and inadequate food for minimal health maintenance;
The worst part about environmental issues determining longevity is that it is the people themselves who are accountable for the hazards that result. No one forces people to overeat and take up smoking. When was the last time someone had a gun held to their head to make them exercise or eat right? When governments do not do enough to guarantee satisfactory health care to all it is a blight on that society. Any failure to act on the needs of the less fortunate will continue to impact longevity and the price will be paid by societies poor. Lousy lifestyle choices in general are a reckless waste of life and considerably elevate the expense of health treatment.
The noteworthy distinctions which effect average longevity include the following: whether you are male or female, your genetics, and availability of clinical care, one’s hygiene, diet and nutrition, physical activity, lifestyle choices and criminal statistics for a region. Currently, a rise in the number of lifestyle related illnesses such as obesity, diabetes type two; high blood pressure and heart disease might dramatically slow or even turn around entirely the trend to an ever increasing life expectancy in the industrialized world.
An argument could be made that socio- economic and environmental elements come into play regarding average longevity. Men and women who partake in harmful lifestyles involving illicit drug use, smoking and excessive alcohol consumption in numerous societies have a greater risk of mortality caused from lung cancer, and liver disease.
Males in particular are more vulnerable to injuries occurring from high risk lifestyles, recreational or automobile accidents or intentional causes through suicide or violence and war. Men also risk death because of the chief causes of mortality in America which are: cancer of the lungs, auto accidents, taking their own life, alcohol related deaths, coronary heart disease and emphysema.
When it comes to socio economic/ environmental issues leading to death, females still have a longer average longevity over males. This occurs because females have a higher level of immunity to illnesses and degenerative disease. This could be a function of evolution and the female need to carry on the species.
There are numerous ways and means to improve upon average longevity, they would include:
• Eating healthy and nutritious foods will aid in increasing life expectancy. Illnesses such as diabetes mellitus [type two]; cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure and obesity among others could all be avoided for the most part by consuming healthy nutritious meals.
• Exercise and getting enough physical activity will assist in helping people live longer lives by reducing their weight and preventing illnesses caused by obesity or weight gain. It improves blood flow and strengthens the heart and respiratory system. Exercise improves the durability of the skeletal system and increased strength means the older a person gets the more independence they will enjoy due to mobility which will increase their longevity.
• Consuming vitamins and dietary supplements has shown it can improve health and increase the odds of survivability. Supplementing diets in this manner can make all the difference when normal food intake is insufficient in supplying the proper vitamin and mineral – specifically the essential nutrients.
• Lifestyle choices need to be reflected on and adjustments made like cutting out the use of drugs and smoking while curbing or stopping entirely all those vices that have been proven will shorten your life.
We now have extensive data that clearly shows how long living members of society manage to live so long. In point of fact, many people who have lived to one hundred years or longer – the centenarians – explain that they never really took part in organized or planned exercise nor did they have the luxury of joining a gym or jumping on a home treadmill, they did not do weight lifting or use elliptical trainers. Any exercise they got was due to a daily regimen of work or routine. Though they slowed in their elder years, slowing down did not mean doing nothing at all, they just did less. Things like gardening or walking still maintained their activity level for their age.
They continued to eat a balanced diet as they had throughout their life but more important to their longevity was having a reason to wake up each day. In business this would be known as a mission statement. These elderly folks also had a network of support that could be family, friends or both whom they could rely on and all lived in or near the same area.
There was a level of respect extended to these senior members in their society who were all treated well emotionally and had no worries financially though they were not necessarily independently wealthy. Many often still live independently and alone, maintaining their own residence and for most people, the lifestyle they lead would be considered boring and uneventful. This in itself is specifically what is needed for longevity – no stress!
Overall, these centenarians who make a mockery of average longevity lead dull, routine lives with little or no stress. In some societies the women would be more prone to stress because they coordinated family life and administered to family in general while men spent their days toiling at work, often by themselves farming. Therefore men lived longer than women, having endured less stress.
One of the main characteristics of most super seniors was how social and connected they were – it contributed a great deal to their extended and satisfying lives. Having others they could socialize with was vital to above average longevity and religious and spiritual social communities in particular seemed to thrive well into old age.
Tue, Jul 13, 2010
Gerontology, Health And Aging, Lifestyle, Longevity