Majid Ezzati of Imperial College London.
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Professor Colin Mathers, co-author from the World Health Organisation explained: “The increase in average life expectancy in high income countries is due to the over-65s living longer than ever before”.
Average life expectancy is set to rise globally by 2030, both at birth and at age 65, the two points that prove crucial in determining lifespans due to enhanced maternal and child health along with improved adult wellness.
Having looked at lifespans in 35 industrialized countries, researchers found that female life expectancy at birth will compare favorably for France (88.6), Japan (88.4), Spain (88.1) and Switzerland (87.7).
It’s good news for Korea and bad news for the USA.
More than half of women born in South Korea in 2030 will be expected to live to more than 90 years old, an increase of 6.6 years over those born in 2010, the study says. While the projections suggest men born in the 2030s in some countries will make it to their early 80s, in no country will life expectancy for men crack even 85, let alone 90.
“Men traditionally had unhealthier lifestyles, and so shorter life expectancies”, said Professor Ezzati.
The researchers suggested the absence of universal health care as one possible reason for the difference.
Of all the developed nations studied, South Korea is likely to see the largest increase in life expectancy.
Meanwhile, female Australians are now ranked fourth in life expectancy at around 84. He suspects part of the difference could be how women in Canada in the 1960s took up smoking at much higher rates than Australia and the U.S. Australia addressed it high minimum wages.
But it is South Korean women who will be living longest by 2030: there is a almost 60% chance that their life expectancy at birth will exceed 90 years by that time, the team calculates.
“They seem to have been a more equal place and things that have benefited people – education, nutrition – have benefited most people”, Ezzati added. The technology that is used in medicine is becoming more and more effective and a lot of diseases can now be treated.
The South Koreans have displaced Aussie males from the top ranking, and pushed our women down from fifth to sixth.
The continual raising of life expectancy among these countries is likely to cause significant problems.
“If you think of inequalities as a kind of a disease, it’s our major killer”.
Male Australians born in 2010 can expect to live to around 80, which is now longer than any other country.
In every country, women had longer projected life expectancies than men.
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People around the world could soon start living longer. In fact, the USA has the lowest life expectancy by 2030 of any high-income country high-income country, according to the researchers.
