Do you think the average life span will increase ?

[low-key]

What are we now 75-80, I think maybe we could go a little higher but not much

 

[Floridaman999]

Yes, as medical science improves and evolves, I have no doubt that life expectancy will increase as well.

 

[runwad]

Yep me too, it'll keep going up with medical advancements and people being more health conscience.

I mean look at some old pictures, people back in the 40's and 50's looked old when they were middle age.

Today middle age people still look young.

Or maybe I just think that because I'm middle aged now

 

[low-key]

Y

Or maybe I just think that because I'm middle aged now

lol

 

[a1tinkfans]

I seem to be more pessimistic in this regard.

Too many diseases that were gone, now returning.
Too many skipping vaccinations and spreading diseases.
Too many (new) Drug resistant
Super bugs/viruses ( stop taking all those Antibiotics people )
Too many “new” Xtra Potent drugs..pot I’m looking at you, that is already causing an increase in addiction related issues.
( and no I’m not talking about medical grade)
Way too many Suffering and Dying from various diseases that Still have no
Cure...despite $$$$$ and hardworking researchers
And some other reasons.

Optimistically... I’d love to believe that people are more in tune with their bodies and taking better care of them.
That Cures are just around the corner!!!

I agree ... we re living longer than years back.. and I HOPE it continues to improve
( quality wise)

 

[DLgal]

Every new generation has a different life expectancy.

It is 79 for kids born in 2015.

 

[Ben E N]

Life expectancy is a funny thing. It isn't saying that the average person will make it to exactly 79 and then die, but rather that quite a few will make it longer, a few will make it around there, and then others will die younger. The younger that people die, the more it messes with the numbers.
Opiate-based deaths are affecting life expectancy numbers right now, but that has no negative impact on how long I plan to live.
According to this table, just by making it to 34 years old without dropping dead, I get to expect to live 2 years longer than when I was first born.
https://www.ssa.gov/oact/STATS/table4c6.html

I think we will continue to see a lot more people make it well into their 80's and beyond, but will probably not see the overall numbers increase too much, because, as was pointed out above, with more people on Earth, there are just more stupid people than there were before as well. They find a way to die off young, along with those who lose their lives too young tragically, and it ends up pulling the overall numbers down.

 

[dish rag]

I believe it’s just gone down for the first time in many gernerations.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Do you think the average life span will increase ?

Yes

 

[Sandeep1]

What are we now 75-80, I think maybe we could go a little higher but not much

I think definitely. But a better question is can we make quality of life better into ones 80s and 90s. I don't want to live to 120 if my last 30 years are going to suck.

 

[disney junky]

I'm not sure, but here are some factors I consider. We know how to eat healthier but I don't think we are. I am continually stunned by the portions at restaurants, and that transfers to our portions at home. Our kids are more obese and less active than ever before. And we adults are as well.

This year, I lost three friends; one was 65 to gall bladder cancer. Always went to the doctor. Never smoked or drank. Not overly active but not obese. Two others were 71 and died of heart attacks. Same thing. Clean living active men. Just died. Suddenly.

That said, my mom was 81 but lost her senses in her mid to late 70's to Alzheimer's. I'd rather not go through that or put my family through that, so unless there is a cure for that, the length of my life is irrelevant if I find myself in that situation. I am 63 and really don't go to the doctor that often unless there is a need.

I still think lifespan is most greatly impacted by genetics. Unless there is a way to modify that, I don't know that there will be much variation in life expectancy.

 

[DisneyOma]

Nope, our DNA just has too many chances to mutate and eventually it just doesn't work anymore. So, unless we start engineering longer-lasting DNA (grab it from those centenarians before they die!) there's an endpoint of how many divisions a strand of DNA can go through and still function.

 

[mnrose]

I believe two things.

One, average life span will DECREASE because of the many factors identified by a PP....drug epidemic, unhealthy life style of many people, etc. Indeed, in terms of AVERAGES, this has already been identified as happening by the CDC. In 2017, average life expectancy declined from 78.7 to 78.6. Not huge, but it is the trend which is worrisome....going backwards isn't a good thing.

https://www.ajmc.com/focus-of-the-w...as-deaths-from-suicide-drug-overdose-increase

Second, I also believe that many more people will live to be 100+ than was true in the past. While a lot of people are living very unhealthy life styles (not enough exercise, too much bad food, smoking, etc), there are also a lot of people paying attention to their health and doing all the right things. Those people could live to be very old, given modern medicine.

Both of these things are true. Since OP asked about "averages", I'm gonna say it's on a downward trend because of so many people dying young, which brings the averages way down. For example, during WW2, average life span declined because of so many young people were killed during that war as to skew the average downward. Same with the Spanish flu outbreak during the early part of the last century.

 

[mom2rtk]

I believe life span is going to decrease because so many people are deferring medical care because of multiple thousand dollar deductibles. We got them covered. But we didn't get them health care.

It doesn't matter how many medical advances there are if people can't afford to use them. Or if they delay because of cost and their illnesses progress beyond the early detection phase.

 

[ronandannette]

I think definitely. But a better question is can we make quality of life better into ones 80s and 90s. I don't want to live to 120 if my last 30 years are going to suck.

Agree. Medical science has already advanced to the point that many people with serious chronic illnesses are being preserved much past the ages they would have in previous generations yet these treatments do not cure or completely alleviate suffering. I don't know the statistics, but anecdotally it also seems people's bodies are now "outliving" their brains, with many elderly people suffering from age-related dementia in their final years.

There are also significant social issues to consider if a longer life-span is to become the norm. North American society is nowhere near prepared for the demographic shift of people routinely living to be (let's say) 100. There are so many factors. Will anyone be able to save enough to support themselves for a 35 year retirement or will people expect to continue earning until they're 75 instead of 65? If so, what does that mean for the opportunities of younger workers? Health care costs? Especially where they are government-subsidized for seniors, where does the money come from given birth rates are down and subsequent generations of tax-payers are smaller? Not to mention the exponential increase in health resources that will be needed to maintain the elderly in any state of wellness. And where will all the ultra-elderly live? Will senior's communities and step-up care facilities now house multi-generations of families if the "parents" live to be 100 and their "children" are in their late 70's? What about transfer-of-wealth between generations, which is something that has traditionally played a part in the economic lives of North Americans?

All of these things need to be pondered... Our DMother lived to be 99. Actively caring for her for 20 years significantly shaped the course of my siblings and my life.

 

[georgina]

Yep. After watching my mom (lived to 96) and my MIL (currently 94) decline, I'm not sure I want to live past 90 if my health is similar.

 

[Ben E N]

Yep. After watching my mom (lived to 96) and my MIL (currently 94) decline, I'm not sure I want to live past 90 if my health is similar.

Not that I am at all hoping for it, but the odds of someone like Arnold Schwarzenegger making it past 80-85 are not the highest, just due to lifestyle choices earlier in his life. However, I would prefer to live the awesome years he has had for just 75 of them rather than barely live at all for a full 110 years.

 

[kdonnel]

I think definitely. But a better question is can we make quality of life better into ones 80s and 90s. I don't want to live to 120 if my last 30 years are going to suck.

I want to go out like my grandfather.

He mowed the grass on a Monday.
Went to the doctor with a cough on Tuesday.
Died of pneumonia on Wednesday at 91.

He had a great quality of life until the last two days.

A potential for a better quality of life is the main motivator for me to exercise every day.

 

[Boardwalk Jedi]

It always does, man.

 

[disneychrista]

Yes I do. But I honestly don't want to live until I'm 100 or whatever. I think 75 is good enough.