Why is life expectancy longer now? originally appeared on Quora: the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world.
Answer by Lawrence Kosick, President and Co-Founder of GetSetUp, on Quora:
Over the last 200 years, life expectancy in the US has doubled, now the average life expectancy is 78.8 years. This longevity is due to better health care and hygiene, healthier lifestyles, diet, and improved medical care. We have access to antibiotics and vaccines, clean water, plentiful and more nutritious food, and we know that exercise and smart lifestyle choices improve our quantity and quality of life.
1. Improved healthcare and advances in medicine
There are several advances in healthcare and medicine that have increased life expectancy. One of the most important is the development of vaccines. Before the development of vaccines, diseases such as smallpox and polio killed millions of people each year. Vaccines have eradicated these diseases in many parts of the world, drastically reducing mortality rates.
Another major advancement is antibiotics, which have been used since the 1940s to treat bacterial infections. Antibiotics are responsible for an average lifespan increase of about five to ten years worldwide.
And finally, there is medical technology: new technologies like CT scans help doctors diagnose illnesses before symptoms appear; this allows them to treat them early on and prevent complications from occurring later on down the road. In addition, telemedicine is becoming increasingly popular allowing people easier access the medical treatment and insights they need.
2. Improved hygiene and living conditions
Life expectancy has increased due to improvements in hygiene and living conditions as well. For example, the advent of modern plumbing and sewer systems has made it possible for people to live in cleaner environments than ever before. Now people don’t come into contact with as many bacteria, which can lead to illness and death. In the past, people were more likely to get sick from contaminated food or water because they didn’t have access to refrigeration or sanitary ways of storing food.
3. Improved lifestyle and exercise
We’ve become much more aware of how our lifestyle impacts our health, so we’re working to make changes that will improve our lives. We have learned that physical activity reduces the risk of hypertension, type-2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, and cancer. Mortality is decreased by 30% to 35% in physically active people as compared to those who don’t exercise. We also know that stress can be unhealthy, so we try to reduce stress in our lives as much as possible, and exercise helps with that too.
4. Improved food and nutrition
A diet rich in fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and lean meats aids longevity as people who live in Blue Zones know since they often reach long lifespans of 100 or more Their diets are heavily plant-based with limited meat except for fish. They also eat beans, nuts, and limit sugar.
Eating healthy can help prevent heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and obesity—all of which are associated with a higher risk of premature death. But even if you’re already suffering from one of these conditions, eating a healthier diet can significantly improve your quality of life and longevity.
Human life expectancy has skyrocketed over the past 200 years, and will likely continue to increase in the future. As technology advances, we will continue to unravel more secrets of our bodies and how they work, resulting in further improvements to overall health and disease prevention.
This question originally appeared on Quora – the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world.
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