Another depressing thread

I agree, Whitewave and Pamela. I just mentioned the ones which came into my head.

It is a particularly depressing thread for me.
I shall be 89 in a few weeks, shall I start to spend my remaining capital, not really interested, start clearing out my drawers and wardrobes to save the family the bother or just put on my shawl, perhaps take to my bed and slowly decline, or, just enjoy what time I have left and say to hell with statistics.
Answers on a postcard please.

Usedtobeblonde

It is a particularly depressing thread for me.
I shall be 89 in a few weeks, shall I start to spend my remaining capital, not really interested, start clearing out my drawers and wardrobes to save the family the bother or just put on my shawl, perhaps take to my bed and slowly decline, or, just enjoy what time I have left and say to hell with statistics.
Answers on a postcard please.

Personally, I'd enjoy my time anyway and forget about the statistics. Remember they can only show averages. To be honest, the fact that you've made it to 89 shows that you've escaped the illnesses which get people in their 50s or 60s.

No need to be depressed Usedtobeblond you’ve already passed the healthy test. Iam presuming you are healthy?
My mum is 97, has cleared out her drawers and moved in with us. We are off to investigate a motor for her wheelchair as I’m getting a bit long in the tooth to push her up hills!

twaddle

Usedtobeblonde

It is a particularly depressing thread for me.
I shall be 89 in a few weeks, shall I start to spend my remaining capital, not really interested, start clearing out my drawers and wardrobes to save the family the bother or just put on my shawl, perhaps take to my bed and slowly decline, or, just enjoy what time I have left and say to hell with statistics.
Answers on a postcard please.

Personally, I'd enjoy my time anyway and forget about the statistics. Remember they can only show averages. To be honest, the fact that you've made it to 89 shows that you've escaped the illnesses which get people in their 50s or 60s.

Yes!

uttb you have every reason to rejoice.

Mind you, if you do rejoice, some idiot will accuse you of being smug😀😀

Such is the world that is GN.

Congratulations on your longevity.

The fact that we are aware of some of the causes eg ultra processed food, is not depressing, because we can make that change for ourselves.
How do we 'help' the younger folk?

Whitewavemark2

But what we mustn’t forget that processed food/ vaping/smoking/screens are available in all developed countries.

There is another factor at play here I think.

School meals too.

There is often a variety on offer and much of it is processed fast food.
Efforts are made to improve school meals occasionally but children will always go for the 'fast food' rather than the healthy option.

If only school dinners were free for all, offered limited but healthy choices, that would go a long way to ensure that all children had at least one healthy meal a day.
Except in the holidays, of course, which is another problem.

Have you seen what the French children have 😮😮.

If only.

Stress is a factor.

Maremia

The fact that we are aware of some of the causes eg ultra processed food, is not depressing, because we can make that change for ourselves.
How do we 'help' the younger folk?

I don't think we should concentrate on ultra processed food, to the extent that people become obsessed with avoiding it. Firstly, some ultra processed food has its place - and it's better than starving. Secondly, there are many other factors involved in a healthy life expectancy.

Whitewavemark2

Have you seen what the French children have 😮😮.

If only.

Yes, I have seen what French schoolchildren have at lunchtime and was going to mention it, but you got there before me.

I have had lots of stress in my life but I seem to have thrived on it.

Macaydia

Stress is a factor.

Agreed! I missed that one out. I'd add sleep (or lack of) to it.

Life expectancy has increased again, though, after the drop due to Covid, so our NHS cannot be as poor as we think. They must be helping to keep us totter along.

Many people are still suffering the after-effects of Covid.

Usedtobeblonde

I have had lots of stress in my life but I seem to have thrived on it.

I think there's quite a fine line between challenge and stress. It's set in a different place for differently people.

Allira

Life expectancy has increased again, though, after the drop due to Covid, so our NHS cannot be as poor as we think. They must be helping to keep us totter along.

Many people are still suffering the after-effects of Covid.

I think the issue in the report is healthy life expectancy, which seems to have gone down, and the difference between areas, which is about 20 years. I can believe that. As I mentioned previously, my area has one of the highest healthy life expectancies in the country. I've just looked it up and it's nearly 10 years higher (at 71) than the average.

twaddle

Allira

Life expectancy has increased again, though, after the drop due to Covid, so our NHS cannot be as poor as we think. They must be helping to keep us totter along.

Many people are still suffering the after-effects of Covid.

I think the issue in the report is healthy life expectancy, which seems to have gone down, and the difference between areas, which is about 20 years. I can believe that. As I mentioned previously, my area has one of the highest healthy life expectancies in the country. I've just looked it up and it's nearly 10 years higher (at 71) than the average.

Yes, I realised that.

That is why I said our NHS must be helping us totter along, even if we grumble about it.

Whitewavemark2

The U.K. has now fallen to number 20 out of 21 countries. Healthy life expectancy has fallen to 60.7 years for men and 60.9 years for women.

The decline of our health is so significant that in more than 90% of us, start suffering from serious illness before we reach pension age.

The findings help explain why 2.8 m people are too sick to work, and deaths are rising in the 25-49 age group,.

Inequalities is health are deep and widening .

We only fall above the USA in health stakes - what an embarrassment.

Health Foundation think tank.

What UK and USA populations have in common, is a massive rise in the consumption of junk/processed food and resultant obesity in ever-younger age groups.

Obesity carries huge risk to physical and mental health.

www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/weight-management/adult-overweight-obesity/health-risks

I think the NHS does help us "totter" along, which is why the average life expectancy/age of death has increased slightly. Treatment for some conditions, especially cancer and coronary have improved greatly over the last could of decades.

Personally, I'm not so keen on tottering along. I quite like being relatively healthy and not tottering. I guess I'm lucky that I don't have anything like arthritis, which I wouldn't be able to control. I'd like to see fewer people "tottering" even in their 70s or 80s (and maybe beyond). We're inundated with information, but nobody seems to have found out how to distribute tottering more evenly across different areas.

eazybee

I would say poor diet, smoking/vaping and lack of exercise has more to do with it.

I would agree.

butterandjam

Whitewavemark2

The U.K. has now fallen to number 20 out of 21 countries. Healthy life expectancy has fallen to 60.7 years for men and 60.9 years for women.

The decline of our health is so significant that in more than 90% of us, start suffering from serious illness before we reach pension age.

The findings help explain why 2.8 m people are too sick to work, and deaths are rising in the 25-49 age group,.

Inequalities is health are deep and widening .

We only fall above the USA in health stakes - what an embarrassment.

Health Foundation think tank.

What UK and USA populations have in common, is a massive rise in the consumption of junk/processed food and resultant obesity in ever-younger age groups.

Obesity carries huge risk to physical and mental health.

www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/weight-management/adult-overweight-obesity/health-risks

True, but the consumption of junk food isn't evenly distributed. It's not national, it's regional. The areas with most obesity happen to coincide with areas with most fast food outlets and lowest income. That suggests there's something else going on beyond a national taste for fast food/UPF.

Cossy

eazybee

I would say poor diet, smoking/vaping and lack of exercise has more to do with it.

I would agree.

So why do some populations tend to drink and smoke/vape more than others? Is it stress? Is it possible that lack of money and insecure jobs/housing increases stress? I don't know about their exercise habits, so can't comment.

@Twaddle *
*From what I understand, the report highlights obesity and declining mental health, particularly in young people.
Obesity is mainly an issue in middle-aged and elderly people*

Obesity among children is rocketing.
www.drwf.org.uk/news-and-events/news/warning-that-childhood-obesity-rising-at-an-unprecedented-rate/

" The prevalence of obesity among school-age children has increased from 4% in 1975 to nearly 20% in 2022.

"For the first time in history, more children globally will be living with obesity than with underweight.

“The increases are fastest in low- and middle-income countries, where most of the world’s children live. Childhood obesity is no longer confined to high-income settings; it is a global social and economic development challenge. Without urgent action, rising obesity rates will place growing strain on health systems, communities and future generations.

“Beyond physical health, childhood and adolescent obesity also carries significant psychosocial consequences.”