The current generation of children will live to see the centenary
How to give birth to a long-lived childIlya Chebotarev, Morning
Most children born in rich countries in this century will live to be 100 years old.
Recently, life expectancy in developed countries has increased by three decades. These are the results of recent research by British scientists.
"Improvements in healthcare lead to a slowdown in the rate of aging, refuting the view that there is a certain ceiling on human life expectancy," says David Gems, an expert from the University of London. He is engaged in research on life-prolonging drugs. Now experiments are being conducted on mice, but it is planned to switch to tests on volunteers soon.
"Laboratory studies have shown that even if you slow down the aging process a little, it has a strong protective effect for the whole body," said Gems. According to the researcher, a pill that could slow down the onset of old age would provide reliable protection against a series of diseases associated with old age.
Doctors are increasingly coping with the treatment of heart disease, cancer and diabetes. Getting rid of these ailments allows people to stay active much longer than before. At the same time, the situation is complicated by the obesity epidemic that has seized Western countries. Being overweight lowers people's immunity and increases the risk of death in diseases.
In the USA, from 1982 to 2000, there was a decrease in the overall level of diseases among the elderly. In recent years, the situation has begun to change, an increase in diseases has been recorded. Doctors believe that this is due to the problem of obesity among Americans.
Increasing life expectancy will radically change society, experts say. In the coming years, the number of people who have reached the age of 65 will exceed the number of the working-age population. In this regard, it will be necessary to increase the retirement age, which can lead to social upheaval.
James Vaupel of the Max Planck Institute in Germany and his colleagues from Denmark found that the average life expectancy in most countries is constantly increasing. And it becomes higher than scientists had assumed. According to new calculations, in Japan, more than half of 80-year-old women will live to 90 years. Earlier it was predicted that this figure would be an order of magnitude smaller. Now the average life expectancy of a person in Japan is 82 years.
In Russia, the average life expectancy for men is 58 years, for women – 72 years. Based on UN regulations, the population of Russia is considered old. The share of Russians who have already turned 65 in the total population is 13%.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru
02.10.2009