Theprogressive increase in life expectancyis causing the world’s population to age rapidly, to the point that, in just five years, andfor the first time in history, the World Health Organization (WHO) foresees thatthe number of people over 65 will exceed that of children under 5. And in 2050 there will be more over 65 than children under 14.
The past century has seen a “remarkable increase in life expectancy”, thanks in part to improvements in public health. Proof of this is that in 1910 the life expectancy of a Chilean woman was 33 years and, currently, just a century later, it is 82.
This increase will promote that,between 2000 and 2050, the world’s population over 60 will doubleand that the absolute number of people older than 60 years goes from 605 million to 2000 billion. In addition, the number of elderly people will reach “unprecedented levels”, since in the first half of the century the number of people over 80 years will have practically quadrupled, reaching 395 million.
Before, when people reached middle age or old age, their parents had died. However, at present, the WHO specifies that “a greater number of children will know their grandparents and even their great-grandparents” and, in particular, their great-grandmothers, since women live an average of six to eight years longer than children. mens.
However, the WHO also recalls that to have good health in old age it is necessary to have been in good health in the previous stages of life. Obese or overweight adolescents are at risk of developing chronic diseases, such as diabetes, circulatory diseases, cancer, or respiratory and musculoskeletal disorders, in adulthood. On the other hand, the speed of deterioration as we age is determined, at least in part, by conduct and behavior throughout life, that is, the diet, the physical exercise that is practiced and how exposed we are to risks for health, such as smoking, harmful use of alcohol or exposure to toxic substances.
