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Original poster

Life expectancy now shorter than it was.

145 replies

OperationMalena · 22/03/2023 07:25

From The Guardian, "Life expectancy at retirement now is two years shorter than it was when they did the last review".

So, they aren't increasing the state pension age to 68 YET because our average national life expectancy has decreased. This, plus apparently middle-aged people are fed up and it is a vote loser.

But hey, life expectancy in this country has declined. Our government(s) must be so proud. I mean WTF? How difficult can it be to find decent people in this country to run the place?

If this carries on, maybe they need to bring in retirement earlier.

OP posts:
MrsDanversGlidesAgain · 22/03/2023 09:36

After over thirty years of nursing there are too many people living too long

I really wouldn't want to be nursed by someone who thought I was 'living too long.'

Allblackeverythingalways · 22/03/2023 09:37

Verylongtime · 22/03/2023 09:28

And you are still attacking people… So nasty.

Roughly one in two people will get cancer. About a third will get heart problems. I know three people who suddenly died of heart attacks in their early 50s. All were fit, healthy, slim, ate well. That’s not “unlucky”. That’s just the way of it. One or the other will get the majority of people. They are just facts.

We can’t go back to the “healthier” lifestyle of my parents -fit and well in their 80s. That would mean massive systemic changes on a governmental level, not an individual one. Banning toxins in the environment, in food, car use, plane use, the contraceptive pill and HRT, plastics etc - all things that are seen as fundamental to modern life. We can’t avoid them.

Show quote history

I don't see how I was attacking anyone, voicing an opinion (a perfectly valid one) isn't attacking people.
Maybe luck isn't a good description, but I'm pretty sure you know exactly what I mean.

TheLastofmySanity · 22/03/2023 09:39

YorkieTheRabbit · 22/03/2023 09:08

Unfortunately cars are a necessity for many people, not all of us live in areas with good public transport.
We have two buses an hour, each goes to a different destination neither run before 8am and the last one finishes at 7.10 pm, the bus which goes to the nearest hospital, will stop running next month.

Footpaths and street lights are nonexistent in many parts so walking isn’t very safe.

But that's the whole point! We need good footpaths, bike paths, and buses!

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

Retirement & pensions
Verylongtime · 22/03/2023 09:41

I’m vegan and have been so for many years. I haven’t eaten meat or dairy for decades. I’m slim and super fit. I still got cancer at a youngish age. I agree that I think it’s environmental, but not necessarily food - not in my case at least.

Reugny · 22/03/2023 09:43

Zipps · 22/03/2023 08:56

All the older people I know, the women have barely worked and all the men bar one retired early. My mum and her friends only worked after getting married for a few years part time when their last child was grown up. My dad and most others I know all retired in their 50's some earlier if they inherited. None of them were worn out. All in their 80's/90's now. They didn't drink much, definitely were not obese, most didn't smoke since teens. It's hardly surprising and why we are retiring early this year. Bodies get worn out if you are constantly working.

I know both men and women who are in their late 70s , 80s and 90s who didn't retire early. In fact some of them worked carried on working past retirement age and some are still working including one in his 90s.

It depends on the jobs they did and do, on whether they are worn out or not.

Basically if you are do a manual job you need to be in a more managerial role so you are less hands on as you get older. You also need to ensure the work doesn't stress you out and isn't long hours.

NamelessNancy · 22/03/2023 09:45

So logically, those who say it's down to life choices, what does that mean? Do people now somehow have less moral fibre than in the past? Less willpower? Does that make any sense?

thecatsthecats · 22/03/2023 09:47

I have taken responsibility for my health.

And you know what? It took a FUCK TONNE of effort. And money. And resilience. Hours of commitment a week.

Which I had, and used.

How fucking dare people have a go at people who don't have those things. As if their situations aren't crappy enough.

Reugny · 22/03/2023 09:51

Allblackeverythingalways · 22/03/2023 09:37

I don't see how I was attacking anyone, voicing an opinion (a perfectly valid one) isn't attacking people.
Maybe luck isn't a good description, but I'm pretty sure you know exactly what I mean.

Show quote history

You are ignoring the fact that you are talking about people who have won the genetic lottery.

The healthy people you know from that generation are the ones who lived to old age. The others died before that.

MaPaSpa · 22/03/2023 10:05

Boomers had more locally sourced and better foods esp meat etc.

the generally have and had a better quality of life, more government subsidies, cheaper cost of living and have more security and less stress.

all the most basic things that increase quality of life

MyriadOfTravels · 22/03/2023 10:05

And it will continue to decline given the obvious increase in poor lifestyle choices.

The current decline has NOTHING to do with lifestyle.
It’s the same in every country. It has declined because of covid.
Wether it will recover (you know so call end if the pandemic blablabla) remains to be seen tbh.

MyriadOfTravels · 22/03/2023 10:07

NamelessNancy · 22/03/2023 09:45

So logically, those who say it's down to life choices, what does that mean? Do people now somehow have less moral fibre than in the past? Less willpower? Does that make any sense?

Life style choice = privilege.

Privilege to have a physically easy job, to not have massive worry with money, access to healthcare, a network around you etc etc etc.

soffa · 22/03/2023 10:12

@QuertyGirl

I wouldn't send kids to a school so far away

I don't send them far away. They are at the local school. I just live further away now...If I wfh I could walk.

I wouldn't do a job that requires me to drive- too unreliable with breakdowns, traffic etc

That's super helpful to all the NHS staff & teachers, delivery drivers & tradespeople then 😆

It's a lot easier to not have to think about driving if one parent works from home!

MaPaSpa · 22/03/2023 10:17

gogohmm · 22/03/2023 09:30

@QuertyGirl

Not everyone lives in cities, some of us even have hills to deal with (I tried an electric bike, it couldn't cope with the hills here) and it's too dangerous to be going so slowly. Public transport would be the answer but the first bus of the day is at 10am to where I work, useless!

Same issue going from zone 2 to 1. 30
min drive hour tube. So silly

QuertyGirl · 22/03/2023 10:18

soffa · 22/03/2023 10:12

@QuertyGirl

I wouldn't send kids to a school so far away

I don't send them far away. They are at the local school. I just live further away now...If I wfh I could walk.

I wouldn't do a job that requires me to drive- too unreliable with breakdowns, traffic etc

That's super helpful to all the NHS staff & teachers, delivery drivers & tradespeople then 😆

It's a lot easier to not have to think about driving if one parent works from home!

So why can't they walk?

Are you a single parent? I understand that it makes things more difficult.

Not sure what it is about the NHS or teaching that mandates car use. My son's teacher cycles in (as did his teacher last year). The bike rack at my local hospital has been expanded at the request of the staff.

cptartapp · 22/03/2023 10:22

MrsDanversGlidesAgain · 22/03/2023 09:36

After over thirty years of nursing there are too many people living too long

I really wouldn't want to be nursed by someone who thought I was 'living too long.'

Then you've never seen the pitiful state some people end up in.

cptartapp · 22/03/2023 10:23

....and sadly, I think you'll find many HCP at the coal face feel this way.

BocolateChiscuits · 22/03/2023 10:28

I lived for a couple of years for a city in Germany. I saw that without putting any effort in, we lived a healthier lifestyle. There was:

  • more walking and cycling - lots of cycle paths, trams, trains and tubes to hop on and off,
  • lots of cafe and restaurants with food that was actually cooked "from scratch" - each day there would be different dishes on the menu, and just 2 or 3 to choose from,
  • our local equivalent of a cornershop was stuffed full of fresh food - fruit, veg, meat, flour, muesli instead of crisps, chocolate and fizzy pop
  • fast food places were quite rare - if you were at a train station say, they might have a kiosk serving sandwiches made from proper rye bread, with recognisable ingredients, like egg, meat or salad.
  • the bread was all very high fibre, proper baked stuff
  • working late was discouraged (if you couldn't get all your work done during working hours, then that was considered a problem that should be addressed)
  • longer paid holidays
  • in the Summer it was normal to take a train out to some lakes for the day (you didn't need a car to get out into nature from the city)

There were lots of beer gardens, and also night clubs, so a lot of drinking and drugs was going on. But it didn't seem to do much harm. Everyone seemed effortlessly healthier than back in the UK.

So you can argue personal responsibility all you like, but there are places where people are less healthy than other places, and it's not because the people in the unhealthier places have less willpower, or take less responsibility for their lives than the people in the healthier places; it's because their environments make it so much harder for them, and demand so much more willpower.

soffa · 22/03/2023 10:35

@QuertyGirl

they are 6 & 7!

No I'm not a single parent but surely logically you understand 2 parents working f/t out of the home has more time pressures than one parent wfh or one parent p/t?

Not sure what it is about the NHS or teaching that mandates car use. My son's teacher cycles in (as did his teacher last year). The bike rack at my local hospital has been expanded at the request of the staff.

Where did I say it was a mandate? Have you really never heard about teachers having to travel far distances to work? or hours teachers work? or nhs staff working shifts often at unsociable times? or nhs staff complaining at staff parking costs?
You seem a little sheltered tbh.

Dinopawus · 22/03/2023 10:37

If longevity at a population level, isn't linked to poverty, why is there such disparity in age of death between wealthy areas and poorer ones?

You can look at public health profiles here.

fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/health-profiles

QuertyGirl · 22/03/2023 11:02

soffa · 22/03/2023 10:35

@QuertyGirl

they are 6 & 7!

No I'm not a single parent but surely logically you understand 2 parents working f/t out of the home has more time pressures than one parent wfh or one parent p/t?

Not sure what it is about the NHS or teaching that mandates car use. My son's teacher cycles in (as did his teacher last year). The bike rack at my local hospital has been expanded at the request of the staff.

Where did I say it was a mandate? Have you really never heard about teachers having to travel far distances to work? or hours teachers work? or nhs staff working shifts often at unsociable times? or nhs staff complaining at staff parking costs?
You seem a little sheltered tbh.

So your real problem is working hours?

beguilingeyes · 22/03/2023 11:05

crossstitchingnana · 22/03/2023 08:40

It's deprivation and poverty that shortens life expectancy. There are huge divides now between affluent areas and deprived ones.

This is what 13 years of Tory policy will do.

This. Food prices are through the roof. Eating healthily is not cheap. A lot of deprived areas are 'food deserts' where there are no places close by to get a good variety of fruit and vegetables.
But lets blame the poor ( and it's usually the poor, life expectancy in Richmond (London) is much higher than in deprived areas.

KnittedCardi · 22/03/2023 11:28

It's complex. The recent drop.us due to Covid, and has happened in all nations. However before that it had already stalled.

The ancients among us now undoubtedly had simpler lives. They ate less volume, and didn't eat chemical loaded shit. Food was basic. Even if they didn't work, housework etc was physical. You shopped every day and walked there and back.

But they lived through, and maybe fought in the war, or were under bombing as children. Food was very restricted and plain. Even if you lived in very deprived areas, in industrial terraces, you had a small garden and grew veg and bred rabbits.

Those slightly younger, post war babies still had pretty basic lives.

Everyone was fit and slim, although most smoked and drank.

Modern living is not healthy, and many have lost sight of what a reasonable diet looks like.

soffa · 22/03/2023 11:36

@QuertyGirl yes I said in my first post I can't reduce my hours due to col & business need...

soffa · 22/03/2023 11:38

I also said if I didn't have to move further out nothing would have changed but I couldn't afford to stay. I find it a bit strange those scenarios are beyond your comprehension.

soffa · 22/03/2023 11:40

And obviously if my dc could walk to school they would, it's a bit weird that you assumed they were capable & weren't as opposed to their age being the mitigating factor.