Details Behind Life Expectancy

July 20, 2012

Interview with Laura Carstensen PhD, author of the book A Long Bright Future

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Mike Carruthers:
You are so lucky to be alive today because for most of human history life expectancy was about twenty years.

Dr. Laura Carstensen:
It then inched up. By the mid -1800's it was 35 or something. In 1900, life expectancy was 47 in this country and by the time the twentieth century was over it was 77, Today it's 78.
 

Dr. Laura Carstensen, Founding Director of the Stanford Center on Longevity and author of the book A Long Bright Future, says a big part in the increase of life expectancy has more to do with babies than it does old people.

Because it was in the twentieth century, that 25% of babies who were born died before they reached 5 years old. Today most babies who are born in developed countries are having the opportunity to grow old - that's a spectacular accomplishment.

And that's had a big impact on the life expectancy statistics. But what else accounts for the big increase in life expectancy?

Medicine has something to do with it. But much of the gain in life expectancy really came about because once we understood how diseases were transmitted we improved the sanitation. So the world we live in is much healthier.

But it's not just about living longer; it's about living longer and healthier.

And the good news is for the last fifty years, each generation that has arrived at old age has been healthier than the one before it.