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Written By: Editorial Team | Updated : June 11, 2021 1:43 PM IST
As standard of living increases with increased consumption of nutritional foods/proteins, the flywheel effect towards better health has started moving faster.
Life expectancy has grown tremendously in India and, today, an average Indian lives almost 30 years longer than he would have 60 years back. India's life expectancy at birth was 41 in 1960 and over 70 today. And there are no signs of this pattern plateauing. Diverting our focus to Japan, a country which has one of the highest life expectancy, and with strong longevity pointers like living standards and health innovations, life expectancy at birth in 2019 was a whopping 84. And since life expectancy are quoted for the 'average' person, there would be many who would be above the mean edging close to 100 years or even beyond. And, yes, even you can live for a 100 years and more.
While writing this article, we asked a few of our friends to participate in one of the many fairly well-regarded life expectancy calculators, that use population data and other health parameters in determining average expectancy. The verdict? Most of the men and women were given to understand that based on their lifestyle and health metrics, they can live far more than their same gender parent. About 10-18 years more. Wow!
There are many reasons why there has been such a significant increase in life expectancy. Here, we look at the major causes, which help you live for a 100 years and more.
The meteoric rise in medical care, including innovations in care protocols is one of the major factors in people living longer. Deaths due to myocardial infractions (heart attacks to the lay person) reduced by over 55 per cent in the1970s and 80s. Infectious diseases, a cause of many deaths, reduced with the increase in standard of living, hygienic conditions and public vaccination drives. As a result of this, people have not been ravaged by disease physically like they used to.
Further, the transition from manual labour to office-based work has reduced stress, a big contributor to curtailing the length of life.
As standard of living increases with increased consumption of nutritional foods/proteins, the flywheel effect towards better health has started moving faster.
Education and access to information help people make lifestyle changes such as stopping smoking, cutting out sugars, and exercising more.
It's all these factors working together, including the compounding effect of the benefits that is propelling our longevity forward. This may plateau, but no one yet knows when, especially as the pace of innovation in healthcare and genetics keeps increasing exponentially and unrelentingly.
It struck us that someone who is 50, once considered old, is in the prime of his life today possibly a good 50 per cent of his adult life still remains. What can you do today, so that your remaining life can be active, productive and healthy? We will stay away from prescriptive answers (like calorie restrictive diets, green tea and exercise - all very helpful to live longer) and the attempt will be to help you change your outlook and your lifestyle.
Let's start with visualizing yourself in your 80s or even 90s. Would you want to be independent both financially and in health? Would you want your mental faculties in peak form? Do you want to be contributing till the end? The answer to these questions will lead you to your favourable destination. And this can be on a multitude of dimensions - mobility@80 years, mind@80 years, BankBalance@80 years, etc
Working backwards, you will know what you need to do today. For example, if you want to climb the 3 flights of stairs with a grocery bag at 85, we suggest that you do the same today, and if you are out of breath and your knees hurt, you should seek medical advice and strengthen your muscles. Keeping a diary of your favourable destination analysis and the things-to-do is recommended to keep you consistent and directionally correct.
Another broad tenet is important coming from a simple long-term pre-nursery study that was undertaken mid last century. Kids were given, in an experiment, the option to get one cookie right now, or 2 cookies 15 minutes later. It was seen that the kids who waited, not only got more cookies, but eventually led a better life. This says that delayed gratification is immensely valuable for those who want to live to a strong and vibrant old age.
Decisions, small and largely insignificant today, will dictate your life 40 years from now. The best way to consistently work on the small actions is through habits. Small habits compounding over time.
There are people, who will say that it isn't important to watch your food intake or your health today, especially as we will all die one day. But then, that one day is many years away for most of us, and yes, we may die in an accident tomorrow or waste away with cancer. But we live in a world, where probabilistic models work well to determine the future. And for most of us, it's not the accident or cancer that will kill us but the ailments related to aging. How you want to go will be determined by not the gods of health, but the decisions and actions you took today.
(This article is authored by Prateep Sen and Tamojit Dutta, Co- CEOs, Tribeca Care, one of India's largest elder care platforms)
