Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Long Lives, Poor Health — Can We Have One Without the Other?

Long lives, poor health

For most of human history, old people were rare. A lucky few might make it to 60 or 70, but most people died before their hair turned white and their faces sagged. It wasn’t until the 20th century that the average lifespan reached 50.
Today, we live what our ancestors would have considered two lives. At forty, we are still looking forward and planning for decades of productive life.
But those extra years come at a cost. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that our ‘second lives’ are burdened with chronic illnesses including depression, back pain, diabetes, and asthma.
“It turns out we’re living longer but we will spend more years with chronic disabilities,” said Christopher Murray, MD, of the University of Washington, who co-authored the study.
Dr. Murray and his team examined the major causes of poor health and premature death in the United States over the past 20 years.
Much of our poor health is the result of bad choices with diet at the top of the list, leading to 680,000 premature deaths, according to the study.

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