Dalston’s Ridley Road market, October 2005. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

For a fascinating insight into the UK’s life expectancy trends open this link and review ONS’s latest statistical projections.

It’s worth dwelling on a few of the implications.

Despite junk-food, increasing consumption of alcohol, rising obesity and limited excercise, people are expected to live an extra twenty years on average. So the gain must be attributable to more effective healthcare? Of course, the distribution of life expectancy in the future will probably follow similar variations to today, with poorer people more likely to die earlier. Also consider the changing demographics, with some sections of society growing faster. Underpinning all of this must be economic assumptions about financing an increasingly ageing population – who will pay the cost?

Another factor is the rise in mental illness and how this will be impacted by greater life expectancy. Unless there are medical breakthroughs, surely we shall see a trend towards a greater percentage of people with dementia?

Thoughts?