Our average lifespan is getting longer

You may consider that a bit of a rude question, but there is actually a very scientific reason for asking it. Basically, people have been living longer since 1800 – this makes sense with things like improved nutrition, medical care, technology, education and general quality of living.

I mean, check out this incredible stat: Every day the lifespan of the average British citizen increases by between five and six hours. That means that babies born today will life five or six hours longer, on average, than those who were born yesterday. So basically, if you were a baby born 2 weeks later than your due date, you could have an average lifespan a few days longer than other babies who would have shared your birthdate. Wow!

This trend is likely to continue every day this year and possibly for the rest of the decade. In 10 years, the average British lifespan will have risen more than two years. Compare this to 1800, when the average UK lifespan was 40. Today it stands at 77.7 for men and 81.9 for women.

The change in UK lifespans has depended on several factors. In the early decades of the 19th century it was mainly due to improvements in civil engineering: sewage works, clean water supplies and better housing. These reduced people’s exposure to deadly bacteria and viruses.

Then, at the end of the 19th century, provision of the first vaccines began to protect people from illnesses such as smallpox. And finally, after the second world war, the availability of penicillin and other antibiotics saved millions of lives and continued that lifespan rise. These developments prevented large numbers of people from dying in youth or middle age – a common occurrence before 1800.

But what about the future? Will this lifespan increase reach a plateau? Well, not yet, it seems….

This discovery is crucial. Some scientists had argued that our bodies are programmed to die at a given point, a process that would ensure populations would not be clogged up with the old and infirm. The relentless rise of lifespans has dispelled this idea.

However, most experts doubt rises can continue at the present rate. If they did, the average UK lifespan would be 100 by the end of this century and 120 by the next. In particular illnesses, like diabetes, which are linked to rises in obesity, are likely to have an effect on average lifespan. According to Dr Lynne Cox, expert on ageing processes, lifestyle choices can be a massive factor here – whether young people choose to change their ways, and become healthier adults in the future.

Ok, well here at Globebloggers we like to talk about holidays, so what does this relentless increase mean here? Well, basically if we are all living longer, we will hope to have more time to go on holidays, especially once we are retired.

But although our life span may be getting longer, we are still going to be at risk of developing various diseases as we get older (and this will particularly be dependent on our lifestyle choices, as Lynn pointed out).

So an important consideration for holidays is travel insurance for the elderly, especially if they have medical conditions. Difficulty in finding travel insurance shouldn’t be an obstacle to enjoying our holidays. However, unfortunately, a lot of elderly people, or those with medical conditions, often find it difficult to get the comprehensive travel insurance that they need. If you are looking for travel insurance, make sure you use a specialist provider, so you can get the insurance you need and travel with complete peace of mind. And remember AllClear Options is the first comparison site for medical travel insurance, so you can get a range of quotes here, and make sure you get the travel insurance that suits you.