How long will we live? Let's learn about lifespan in simple terms

Have you ever wondered how long a person can live? Sometimes we see in the newspaper stories about "a 105-year-old grandmother" or "a 110-year-old grandfather." We really feel surprised when we hear such words. Today we are going to talk about this. That is, about the different concepts that are said about the time a person can live. When you know these correctly, you will understand that it is not just about living longer, but also about living longer and healthier.

What exactly is lifespan?

Simply put, lifespan is the maximum length of time a human can live. It is like the maximum speed of a vehicle. Currently, according to world records, the maximum lifespan a human can live is considered to be 122 years.

This is determined by the age of the oldest person in the world whose exact date of birth can be confirmed. That record is held by a French woman, Jeanne Calment. She was 122 years old when she died in 1997. For men, the record is held by Jiroemon Kimura of Japan. He was 116 years old when he died in 2013.

So what is life expectancy?

This is where many people confuse life span with the previously mentioned life expectancy. Life expectancy is the average age that a population or group can be expected to live.

This is not a way to predict exactly how long an individual can live. Medical experts take data from the population of a country or region and calculate an average of how many years they can expect to live.

For example, let's say that life expectancy in Sri Lanka is 75 years. That doesn't mean that you and I will die at exactly 75 years old. It means that someone born in Sri Lanka, under current conditions, can expect to live an average of about 75 years. Some will live much longer, and some may die even earlier.

If you look at the table below, the difference between the two will be very clear to you.

What factors affect our life expectancy?

Many things, such as where you live and your lifestyle, affect this average life expectancy. Here are some of the main factors that affect it:

• Ease of access to good healthcare: The ability to easily see a good doctor and get some medicine when you get sick.
• Clean water and nutritious food: Access to clean drinking water and a balanced diet.
• Sanitation services: Things like good toilet facilities, waste management.
• Family history and genetic factors: Diseases that run in the family (e.g. diabetes, high blood pressure) can sometimes affect us too.
• Wars and conflicts: Unrest in a country.
• Global pandemic: As you may recall, the COVID-19 pandemic that began in 2019 caused life expectancy around the world to drop by two years.

Let's learn the two words 'Longevity' and 'Healthspan' shall we?

When discussing this topic, you often hear two other words: Longevity and Healthspan.

Longevity

This is very simple. Longevity is living longer than the average life expectancy. For example, if the average life expectancy in a country is 75 years, we say that someone who lives to 90 or 100 years has lived a long life. With the advancement of medical science in the world, the number of people who live this long is increasing.

Healthy Lifespan

This is the most important of these concepts. Thanks to modern medicine, people are living longer than ever before. But simply living longer and living healthier are two different things.

Healthspan is the amount of time you can live a healthy life, free from chronic conditions and the disabilities that come with aging.

Think about it this way.

• Person A: Lives to be 90 years old. But has been bedridden for the last 20 years, suffering greatly from many illnesses such as diabetes and arthritis.
• Person B:They live to be 85 years old. But until their death, they live happily, doing their own thing, without any major illness or sorrow.

Whose life is better? In fact, Person B's life is better. He has a longer health span . Our goal should not be to simply increase life expectancy, but to increase this health span.

How long do people in the world live on average?

According to 2022 data, the average life expectancy in the world is 72 years . This is more than double what it was in 1900. At that time, the average life expectancy was only 32 years!

Women generally live slightly longer than men. On a global average, men's life expectancy is about 70 years, while women's is about 75 years.

But this 72 is just the global average. This varies greatly from country to country. These are some of the countries with the highest life expectancies in the world in 2022.

While these concepts cannot predict exactly how long you will live, they can help you understand your health. That knowledge can guide you to live a healthier, longer, and happier life.