Do you think the average life span will increase ?

[Southernmiss]

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

One of my cousins said the same thing. It really took me aback. I never considered that people would not want to live to old age. Gave me great pause and I've thought a lot about that.

My cousin helped care for both of her parents who died in their late 60s or early 70s. Father had lung cancer that spread due to smoking and drinking. Her mother died of liver disease due to years of drinking (though she had quit 10 years before her death.) Then cousin helped care for our 95 year old grandmother who was very active until age 93 when she started falling. Grandmother had all her faculties until she died at one week shy of 97. Her little body just gave out.

But I guess after caring for 3 of her elders so deeply, she does not want to burden anyone. And she never had kids. So I might be the one to look after her.

She's also of a generation and friend group that partied and lived life hard. So there are some in their mid 50s beginning to reap the consequences of that life.

Me on the other hand, I've always wanted to live to old age. Might not get the chance, but it would like to see grandkids and great grand kids and the future advances of the world.

 

[low-key]

At my now current 74, I sure hope so.

I lost a lot of money when Sugar Ray Leonard beat my all time favorite Hit man Hearns , my buddy in the Navy told me, dont you know you never bet against Sugar Ray ? well Im not betting against Dan, as father time will suffer his first loss

 

[Sandeep1]

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

Same here but once you're 75 and if feeling good, you might feel differently.

 

[tvguy]

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

My mom made it to 89, sharp as a tack, living alone, and active lifestyle (walking 4 miles a day). I did convince her to stop climbing the ladder to clean out her gutters when she turned 85. The last year of her life had to be tough, diagnosed with a tumor on Monday, had a stroke in the hospital on Wednesday while waiting for a biopsy to be done on the tumor. Passed from the cancer at age 90. I just have had so many people I know enjoy active good lives into their 90's, I'd like to go at least that far. Sadly, during my mom's year in a Board and Care I saw many of the residents had dementia or Alzheimers, but physically were as healthy as a horse into their late 90s.

 

[dclpluto]

In America probably not. All of the US military branches had to up their weight charts since kids are so much heavier now. Wouldn’t be surprised if they have to up the weight charts again. It’s been a while.
People are watching more tv than they use to which is not good.
Smoking is down thou
You could do everything right be right weight, don’t smoke, exercise and still die at a young age from cancer.

 

[LSUmiss]

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)

I’ll add...Too many ppl being diagnosed at a young age with supposedly rare cancers. I’m pretty sure that life expectancy has actually decreased in recent years.

 

[Dan Murphy]

well Im not betting against Dan, as father time will suffer his first loss

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Jason.

 

[disneychrista]

Same here but once you're 75 and if feeling good, you might feel differently.

Very likely true. No one can say what the future holds. We can only say how we feel about something based on today.

 

[mousefan73]

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

Just wanted to mention this. I believe I have read many times, that the new generations will actually have a lower life expectency than the current ones. IF we keep getting fatter and more seditary. that is the issue, people dying due to lifestyle diseases... ex. Diabetics and Heart Disease. Not all are cases are lifestyle driven, but there is a sharp increase due to lifestyle. Also if you tie in the whole drug/alcohol etc.... stats goe down.

 

[mousefan73]

I think we'll see older people living longer, but you have to survive youth to get there, and the young people dying are going to bring down the average.

The number of people my age (and I'm not that young- in my 30's) and younger that I see dying of addiction and lifestyle related illness is staggering. Not just overdoses, but the myriad of other awful conditions that drug and alcohol abuse can cause. Obesity, vaping, and "selfie goals" are also big conributing factors.

But, if you manage to take care of yourself and avoid all of that, I think most of us can expect to live longer, healthier lives than prior generations.

I just had this discussion lately. We were looking at our group of family and friends and came to the conclusion.. that the 50s is the death zone.. Once you make it past that, you have a good chance of living a long life.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

Same here but once you're 75 and if feeling good, you might feel differently.

DH's Grandmother is in her 90's, smokes like freight train, and has more energy and lives a fuller life than any of us! She still lives independently (does get help with yard work), goes out gambling and to social gatherings, and still sharp as a tack. Getting older doesn't always mean misery and suffering.

 

[mnrose]

DH's Grandmother is in her 90's, smokes like freight train, and has more energy and lives a fuller life than any of us! She still lives independently (does get help with yard work), goes out gambling and to social gatherings, and still sharp as a tack. Getting older doesn't always mean misery and suffering.

This is true. Some people defy the odds. But, in general, if you want to live a long and healthy live, don't smoke, drink in moderation, and get regular physical activity.

I really am aiming to drop off that cliff that someone mentioned up above. I run 3-4 miles a day, watch my diet, have never smoked, etc. I'm not necessarily aiming to live longer, but I sure as heck want to add life to the years I do have.

 

[ronandannette]

My mom made it to 89, sharp as a tack, living alone, and active lifestyle (walking 4 miles a day). I did convince her to stop climbing the ladder to clean out her gutters when she turned 85. The last year of her life had to be tough, diagnosed with a tumor on Monday, had a stroke in the hospital on Wednesday while waiting for a biopsy to be done on the tumor. Passed from the cancer at age 90. I just have had so many people I know enjoy active good lives into their 90's, I'd like to go at least that far. Sadly, during my mom's year in a Board and Care I saw many of the residents had dementia or Alzheimers, but physically were as healthy as a horse into their late 90s.

My mother was similar until age 94; unfortunately she lived to be 99. I say unfortunately because the rapid cognitive decline in her last 5 years made them excruciating. Her body just wouldn't quit though and once she was in a locked-down dementia care facility, we were not able to fully control her medical decisions.

They kept her going on all sorts of medications and even revived her with CPR once when she went down, even though we had a DNR in place. They told us afterwards the staff member panicked and instinct kicked in; she just couldn't stand there and watch Mom die on the floor. She was then transported to hospital and diagnosed with a systemic infection and started on a brutal course of IV antibiotics before my sister and I could get there to say no. The medical professionals made us feel like stopping the treatment would be unthinkable - if she could be saved, she should be saved. She existed for another 3 years but the Cipro fried what was left of her brain and those years were horrible. How much kinder it would have been if something had taken her suddenly while she was still herself.

This is my concern about the constant drive for longer life expectancy and medical advances that can preserve but not cure. I'm not trying to be mean here but I think many people when pondering this question simply imagine themselves roughly the same as they are now. The reality can be so much more horrible and I wouldn't inflict it on my worst enemy let alone want it for myself.

 

[mnrose]

My mother was similar until age 94; unfortunately she lived to be 99. I say unfortunately because the rapid cognitive decline in her last 5 years made them excruciating. Her body just wouldn't quit though and once she was in a locked-down dementia care facility, we were not able to fully control her medical decisions.

They kept her going on all sorts of medications and even revived her with CPR once when she went down, even though we had a DNR in place. They told us afterwards the staff member panicked and instinct kicked in; she just couldn't stand there and watch Mom die on the floor. She was then transported to hospital and diagnosed with a systemic infection and started on a brutal course of IV antibiotics before my sister and I could get there to say no. The medical professionals made us feel like stopping the treatment would be unthinkable - if she could be saved, she should be saved. She existed for another 3 years but the Cipro fried what was left of her brain and those years were horrible. How much kinder it would have been if something had taken her suddenly while she was still herself.

This is my concern about the constant drive for longer life expectancy and medical advances that can preserve but not cure. I'm not trying to be mean here but I think many people when pondering this question simply imagine themselves roughly the same as they are now. The reality can be so much more horrible and I wouldn't inflict it on my worst enemy let alone want it for myself.

Oh, I'm with you. I have ZERO desire to live my last few years being held captive by my body or (lack of) brain. Ugh. And, most people don't. But, we've got to find a way to get "comfortable" with letting people die....because we are all dying anyway. My aunt had to fight like hell to let her husband die rather than keeping him going....just because they COULD. He had zero quality of life, and zero chance of ever getting a meaningful quality of life (had fallen and had a terrible brain bleed as a result).

Just because we CAN keep people alive for longer and longer periods of time doesn't mean we should. Plus, the cost to get those extra few months or even years of less than quality life is mind boggling. In America, paid for by taxpayers. We've got to have a honest conversation about this without it becoming "oh you believe in death panels." No, I don't at all. But, we seriously need to re-evaluate what makes sense and what doesn't. Which means each person much have a honest conversation with their loved ones about what they do and don't want in terms of care in their last years. I firmly believe that we've got a big problem in America accepting that we are all finite. And, we rail against it to our detriment.

 

[disneychrista]

He had zero quality of life, and zero chance of ever getting a meaningful quality of life

Quality of life is very important. We are more sympathetic to this in animals then we are in humans. I just had to put my 17 year old cat down because his quality of life was deteriorating fast and it wasn't fair to him to keep him going. But the same is not true with humans. It seems unfair.

 

[Colleen27]

I'm a bit of a pessimist on this, at least when it comes to the US. Between appalling overdose and suicide rates and an increasing share of the population essentially priced out of access to medical advancements, we saw our first decline in decades and I suspect it won't be the last. I think we're headed for essentially a two-tiered culture of aging, I which we see more and more people living to exceptionally old ages with the assistance of advancing technology at the same time as we see more and more people dying relatively young (50s and 60s) of self-inflicted harms or lack of basic care.

 

[mom2rtk]

I'm a bit of a pessimist on this, at least when it comes to the US. Between appalling overdose and suicide rates and an increasing share of the population essentially priced out of access to medical advancements, we saw our first decline in decades and I suspect it won't be the last. I think we're headed for essentially a two-tiered culture of aging, I which we see more and more people living to exceptionally old ages with the assistance of advancing technology at the same time as we see more and more people dying relatively young (50s and 60s) of self-inflicted harms or lack of basic care.

Totally agree. We are already a "have" and "have not" country with regard to medical care. And the "have nots" are not always the ones you would expect.

 

[GreatLakes]

In America probably not. All of the US military branches had to up their weight charts since kids are so much heavier now. Wouldn’t be surprised if they have to up the weight charts again. It’s been a while.
People are watching more tv than they use to which is not good.
Smoking is down thou
You could do everything right be right weight, don’t smoke, exercise and still die at a young age from cancer.

It is sad and totally self-inflicted. The combination of poor diet and lack of exercise is astounding.

That commercial with the kid sitting there playing video games and calling his elderly grandma for a grape soda is almost funny it's so accurate.

 

[Colleen27]

It is sad and totally self-inflicted. The combination of poor diet and lack of exercise is astounding.

That commercial with the kid sitting there playing video games and calling his elderly grandma for a grape soda is almost funny it's so accurate.

It is a bit of an oversimplification to call it "totally self inflicted". There are a lot of societal-level factors that go into the rise in obesity and decline of physical activity levels in America, and not everyone has the resources to overcome those factors on an individual level.

 

[ronandannette]

I'm a bit of a pessimist on this, at least when it comes to the US. Between appalling overdose and suicide rates and an increasing share of the population essentially priced out of access to medical advancements, we saw our first decline in decades and I suspect it won't be the last. I think we're headed for essentially a two-tiered culture of aging, I which we see more and more people living to exceptionally old ages with the assistance of advancing technology at the same time as we see more and more people dying relatively young (50s and 60s) of self-inflicted harms or lack of basic care.

It's a little different here; public health care is provided for all and in fact, private fee-for-service care is very strictly regulated so that superior levels of care cannot (theoretically) be "bought" unless one goes abroad. That said, there is a significant issue with actual access to care due to limited resources.

Elder care, even at this point, consumes a disproportionate amount of what's available and (again theoretically) the most advanced acute care is not withheld if a patient or their legal proxy requests it. Priorities definitely conflict, and in relation to your examples, mental-health services here are very insufficient and any meaningful, effective treatment for addictions is practically non-existent.