How to Increase Your Life Expectancy
Your life expectancy is the expectation, in relation to the number of years you’ve currently lived, that you expect to live within a specific context. This is one of the indicators that the United Nations selected in order to measure the levels of development of countries around the world.
The World Health Organization (WHO) states that life expectancy differs depending on where you were born and the places where you grew up. Countries with higher development indexes also have higher life expectancies than less developed countries.
“Infant mortality and life expectancy are reasonable indicators of general well-being in a society.”
-P. J. O’Rourke-
Dr. Margaret Chan, ex-Director-General of the WHO stated that “The world has taken great steps to reduce unnecessary suffering and premature deaths caused by preventable and treatable diseases.” Nevertheless, she maintains that progress has been irregular and the best thing we can do regarding this situation is to help all countries have universal health coverage.
The chasm that separates developed and less developed countries keeps growing. This affects the inhabitants’ quality of life directly. Planning and improving public policies on a global scale are some of the best ways to reverse this situation. This will allow countries to get on the path to development to improve their life expectancy.
Life expectancy in Spain and the EU
The European Health and Life Expectancy Information System (EHLEIS) provides information on these matters. It states that the number of healthy life years in Spain has increased if you compare it with data from the 28 member states of the European Union (EU-28).
EHLEIS is a part of the BRIDGE Health project. The objective of this project is to create an integrated European health information system in the third EU health program of 2014 – 2020.
Through the data obtained, new preventative measures and improvements in the quality of life of the EU’s inhabitants can be planned out. Ideally, this would increase healthy life expectancy and help lower the rates of disease.
What healthy habits improve life expectancy?
The WHO has reported the factors that influence healthy aging. Your environment influences you when you make decisions involving the maintenance of healthy habits. The WHO recommends that you maintain healthy life habits to reduce your risk of suffering from non-communicable diseases.
“The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don’t want, drink what you don’t like, and do what you’d rather not.”
-Mark Twain-
Ideally, you should consume at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day. This reduces your risk of developing diseases. Additionally, it guarantees that you’ll get the amount of dietary fiber you need. Aside from that, you should get enough sleep (at night if possible). Remember that a good night’s rest is one of the things that gives you the most energy.
The WHO stresses that a poor diet and a lack of physical activity are the biggest health risk factors on a global scale. Without a doubt, a good diet provides long-term benefits.
Broadly speaking, keeping up good habits even as you age can make a big difference in your quality of life. In summary, exercise and good nutrition help preserve your cognitive health and also reduce the speed at which your body loses its vigor and reverts to a state of dependency.