Life Expectancy
Life Expectancy is given by an estimate of the average number of years that a group of people born in the same year would live if the movements in the mortality rate of the evaluated region remained constant. It is one of the most common quality of life indicators, although it is difficult to measure. Some economists have proposed using it to measure the return on investment in the human capital of a region by international organizations or institutions.
Life expectancy throughout history
In the past, life expectancy increased after the childhood years, while individuals exceeded the very high mortality rates associated with childhood. An individual born before the 20th century who was over 20 years of age could consider that her life expectancy was comparable to the current one of a similar economic-social level.
Public health measures are considered to be responsible for most of the recent increase in life expectancy.
Since 2001 , the WHO has published statistics called Healthy Life Expectancy (HALE), which are defined as the number of years a person can live in full health, not counting the years lived with any disease or illness at a young age. advanced. Since 2004 , Eurostat publishes annual statistics called Healthy Life Years (HLY) based on reports.
An increasing number of countries are using life expectancy indicators to monitor the health of their populations. There is inequality in life expectancy between social classes (poor, middle and rich) between the sexes (women and men) and between job categories , as well as between nations. There are possible policies to reduce all kinds of inequality, which requires some science, a lot of awareness and constant determination.
Factors that influence life expectancy
Diet
To begin we must point out the diet. A balanced and quality diet that contains enough calories necessary to study and work will always affect the quality of life and, therefore, will increase the life expectancy of said population.
Public health
The second factor is public health. The more and better budget allocated to public health, the better prepared a community will be to withstand illnesses and medical contingencies (the current example of the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates this point).
Education
To this we must add that the preparation of medical personnel is essential to ensure that public health is effective, and that is when we fall into the third determining factor: education.
As long as a population has an efficient, modern, and quality education system that offers its inhabitants the tools to attain knowledge and put it into practice, the better prepared it will be to face daily challenges.
Physical activity
The fourth factor is closely linked to the previous three and refers to the regular and constant practice of sports activities that keep the body and mind in shape and result in healthy routines.
To affirm this point, we only have to observe which are the countries with the best individual sports brands and as a whole to verify that they are developed countries that pay great attention to their health and educational systems.
supporting factors
Another very important factor for life expectancy is offering the population efficient and quality public services, especially the water that is consumed. In all developed countries with a high probability of life, water is 100% drinkable, free of impurities and with high quality standards.
The next factor is closely linked to health and education: it is the control of drugs and alcohol. Despite being a scourge throughout the world, those countries that manage to control addictive vices enjoy a longer life expectancy.
Very important is the factor that refers to the way of facing leisure. The more and better healthy recreational alternatives that are offered to a population, the greater the life expectancy will be.
The last factor is access to technology. A population with modern technology will be able to face complex challenges, such as climate change, the care of its natural resources and the recycling of garbage.
