To think that not everyone wants to live a long life?

[crunchymint]

I sued to work with a couple of health prevention workers who thought the key to getting people to live healthier, was to tell them this would help them to live a long life. But the reality is for people struggling to get by, this is not important. If you are struggling to get by, a bar of chocolate is an easy reward, or pizza is an easy dinner. Our society is set up to make unhealthy living the easiest way to be. A truly healthy society would be set up to make a healthy way of living far easier.

I dont think its all about ease.

I think in junk food, takeaways, etc, the level of additives, sugar and salt actually get you hooked.

Thats why you could have a homemade lasagna and a microwave lasagna and many people would prefer the latter. Irrespective of ease, their tastebuds have just been bombarded to the extent they think the unhealthy stuff actually tastes better. The healthier option just doesnt hit the spot.

I'm not struggling to get by, but have no desire to live a particularly long life. I think longevity is overrated. That said, I would rather be in good health while I am alive. I think a better message would be to lead a healthy lifestyle in order to make the most of the present and enjoy whatever time you have.

I'm not sure that is true. I know I much prefer home made food, but I need time and energy to make it. When life is difficult I buy a microwave one.

screaming I agree that a better message is to avoid being in pain or with certain illnesses.

Yes; obviously not every illness can be alleviated by healthy living, but poor diet/malnutrition can exacerbate feelings of general malaise, and lower the immune system - and being overweight brings a host of potential problems, tiredness, aches and pain and discomfort. If people are struggling from day to day, focusing on shorter term goals and relief from present pain will probably be more effective as an incentive to make changes than the distant and dubious benefit of living to 100 or similar.

We should aim for a long healthspan rather than lifespan.

Reducing social inequality would help massively.

Talking about diet and exercise will have limited effect when it is really income, housing, education and lack of hope and aspiration which are the issues.

Yanbu. Lots of people, even happy people, don’t want to live a particularly long life. I’m one of them, theoretically. Obviously, who knows how I’ll feel at 85?

Re being society being set up for an unhealthy life being the easier option. Well, I don’t know. I think it depends on what your standards are for a ‘healthy’ life. It’s definitely harder to train hard, 6 days a week than it is to sit on your arse. We do too much sitting on our arses these days, (me included atm, though in my defence I’m hugely pregnant). If we were busy farming the land as our ancestors did, then we wouldn’t have the choice. We’d have had to exercise and eat nothing but homemade. But that’s probably romanticising things a bit.

Smoking doesn’t look especially easy these days. I think smokers have to put effort into smoking. I wouldn’t call it an easy option. It’s just horrible addictive. But people still take it up. Though I really don’t see so many smokers where I live.

A good life is what I try to aim for now. You know, enjoying life and all it has to offer while I am healthy enough to enjoy it.

I took early retirement a few years ago, and the cobwebs left, the energy returned and it's like a new lease or something.

As long as I haven't done any harm to anyone and leave no debts or trouble to those I leave behind, well that's it.

We all have to die at some point, and lingering in dementia and pain is not something I look forward to, does anyone?

OK if you are 100 and still walking around and enjoying life, but if not, it must be bloody miserable.

Ivegotbills Ah but focussing on that means we can keep blaming poor people for their poor health.

Exactly how I feel @cathy.

My poor granny is in her mid-nineties now and having a horrible time . I honestly don’t think I want to get there, as awful as it sounds.

True smoking has been made a difficult option. And I know people who have cut down a lot just because they don' want to go outside to smoke in bad weather while everyone else is in the pub or restaurant.
In most places walking could be made much more attractive. Walking to work by the side of a busy road is not attractive. Walking to work by the side of a canal with swans and ducks in it, is much more attractive.

Its like they found they can get people to walk up the stairs instead of take the escalator by painting steps and making them attractive.
Instead people are lectured and told it is their fault.

I for one am not interested in living into very old age.

Actually, if public transport was better and people didn’t feel they had to drive everywhere, there would be a lot less traffic on the road. People might actually enjoy walking and cycling then. Also, people wouldn’t be sitting on their bums on the way to work or school... where they have to sit on their bums all day! I’m always a bit funny about how much goes in to improving roads while public transport is utter shite.

I want to live while I can enjoy life, after that definitely time to leave.

"You'll live a long time" is a poor incentive not because people don't want to live a long time (most would if they could be guaranteed health and sufficient wealth) but because it's too far away.

People's brains work much better with short-term incentives.

We (rightly) discount rewards based on how far away they are, because we think there's a greater chance that they will not come to pass.

(google "temporal discounting" if you feel like it)

"Walk to work because it's nice" is more valuable than "walk to work because you'll live an extra day at the end of your life" not because a nice walk is better than an extra day of life, so much as because you can believe that you definitely will get that nice walk, whereas it's hard to completely believe in and value that extra day.

TheDailyMailIsADisgustingRag

I agree with you.

My lovely Mum is in care now, she is miserable because she cannot do anything for herself anymore. She is very well cared for (We make sure of that!), but her quality of life is not great. It is very frustrating for her, poor love, but what can we do?

I suppose life is precious, but not at any price.

I love Mum to death, but she is miserable, not because of lack of care, but because she is unable to do anything for herself anymore.

Sorry a few tears here. But I am sure I will be forgiven.

Thanks for sharing that about temporal discounting. I had not heard the phrase before, but it makes perfect sense.

And yes, a nice walk that you can enjoy would motivate me. Walk to work as I would alongside a traffic filled road because it might make me live longer, does not motivate me.

I am not sure I want to live to a long age even if I am healthy. I have relatives who have, and they just dealt with constant bereavement. All their peers die before them.