Why is it the elderly are living as long as ever, but are sicker?

New research shows that those in their later 60s now are sicker than those in their late 80s were at the same point in their lives. Why isn’t prosperity delivering wellness, and what can we do about it?
Link to the paper: dx.doi.org/10....
#uk #money #economy #politics #government #tax #labour #starmer #keirstarmer #old #health #life
ABOUT RICHARD MURPHY
Richard Murphy is Professor of Accounting Practice at Sheffield University Management School. He is director of Tax Research LLP and the author of the Funding the Future blog. His best known book is ‘The Joy of Tax’.
This video was edited by Thomas Murphy.
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[@greenspain9142]

"A patient cured, is a customer lost" Motto of the BIG PHARMA corporations.

[@maxflight777]

@greenspain9142 🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯

[@HighWealder]

I guessed the answers even before I watched it. Lack of exercise. Overweight. Junk food diet. Overprescription of drugs. Environmental poisons of air, water and food. Unemployment.

[@michaelharrison9340]

Add compromised immune system from inadequate vitamin D levels and experimental medical procedure plus lack of C15 fatty acid from low-fat diet leading to weakened cells.

[@marianhunt8899]

Increasing poverty also.

[@helenheenan3447]

@@michaelharrison9340 Which experimental medical procedures are you referring to?

[@shaz7132]

We are not all richer, only some are richer and living better.

[@RichardBergson]

That's exactly the point! As a society we are richer but the excess wealth is not being used to benefit the population as a whole.

[@jillmorris2521]

@@shaz7132 so damn true , about as twisted as the av age of death 150 years ago . The rich died in there 80s an million of poor kid died young av it out to 40 odd . Today it’s we are x amount of wealth each ! Are we fack adding 1000s of millionaires to the working wage puts it up to 35000 Total bullship ! Av wage for 30 million workers is £25000 and that includes those on 80/60/40000 so 20mill near 2/3 of workers earn 20000 or less . Now put that against rents mortgages gas lecky petrol bills an FOOD is that a prosperous people ? Is it fack .

[@HenryMawcat]

I'm 66 and have a variety of health problems,heart , high blood pressure. Dad died in his mid fifties of a heart attack so have well outlived him, Mum died in her late 70s of stroke. We were very poor in the 60s and had quite poor diet although we used to have Haliborange tablets. Always lived an active outdoor life and still have a positive attitude. I think Stress is probably the major factor and as a 'Newbie' pensioner I think this government is raising the stress and insecurity levels of OAPs, probably deliberately.

[@OghamTheBold]

Deliberate dis-ease democide of diabolical donor dystopia

[@borderlands6606]

Similar here. Today the working class die of stress, bad diet, TV (more stress and BS consumption) and lack of exercise. They used to die of hard work, digging holes, falling into machinery, war and smoke inhalation. In my family if you made it past your 50s you were a "good age". Picking up a few years of state pension was a definite bonus.

[@peterharris3096]

As a sixty seven year old Cyclist, walker and ski instructor, I consider this timely and excellent commentary which contained the solutions. Noticeably people are carrying more weight.

[@NetZeroNo]

@@peterharris3096 not a ski instructor - but otherwise totally agree. Don't switch to an electric bike - heard too many horror stories from 70+ yos- too many broken limbs too heavy and unstable. Keep on keeping on - all the best.

[@Hiram8866]

Poor diet lack of exercise, stress. It isn't rocket surgery.

[@edwardmclaughlin7935]

More importantly, why are young people dying in greater number than prior to 2021? It's a real puzzle.

[@countryman5329]

Hmm, I wonder, weren't there some untested medical interventions around then...🤔

[@sososoprano1]

@@countryman5329- obviously you can’t be talking about the Covid vaccines because we all know very similar vaccines had been worked on for years and these newer ones only needed a little tweaking and were thoroughly tested. However, we also know that SARS-CoV-2 wasn’t just a respiratory virus but did multi-organ damage, partly because of causing micro-clots. We were warned that it was likely that there would be long term damage and that we’d see an upsurge in the number of unexpected deaths, particularly in younger people, so… Perhaps it’s coincidental, perhaps not. I guess we’ll find out one day.

[@christinavuyk2026]

Aww ffs, couple of fannys 🤦‍♀️😂😂

[@Its.all.a.game.m8]

No one seems to want to have that conversation. Let’s not forget “if it saves just 1 life “

[@A-se2ur]

They see the writing on the wall and thereby get avoidable stress related illnesses if not top themselves. Product of their environment.

[@jimshelley8831]

As a OAP , we received free education ,leaving University debt free and the best of the NHS , strong unions, plus affordable housing to buy ,unlike now. People leave the University in debt, they can't afford housing most of the time, or high rents , unions weakened. I still go to the gym 6 times a week, my diet is good, I walk & swim too .I receive a decent pension and left the UK 6 years ago , after realising how far to the right the country has gone , & the consensus for a better society for all in the UK has gone .

[@physiocrat7143]

The country has not gone to the right. It's gone to the dogs.

[@helenheenan3447]

I was one of the lucky post war generation too. Born into the NHS, free school meals because my Dad had died, free university education for four years, a good job with a final salary pension, my state pension at 60. And as a result I am reasonably healthy, physically and mentally, have paid a lot of money in taxes, and still do. I have more than paid back my country's investment in my well being. I feel sad and angry that young people are now burdened with debt before they even start their adult working lives. I have supported Labour, in the expectation they would restore some fairness to society. That's another massive disappointment.

[@physiocrat7143]

@@helenheenan3447 Me too but our employers paid our taxes and pensions. It was part of their labour costs. PAYE Income Tax and NI were a deception intended to make everyone feel that they had a stake in society. The long term effect has been to send the economy into a death spiral. The welfare state should have been funded by a different tax system altogether in 1945. It would only have been a fraction of its present size since it would have been sustainable and poverty would have been mostly abolished.

[@dennismccarthy7032]

I'm the same age as you Richard. My take is this , Treatment is far more profitable than cure. One of the differences between the previous generation and us that you didn't mention is injections. ....... I also feel that corporate profiteers have run our country for most of our lifetime. Great show Richard ❤

[@susannewton3757]

Currently in a hotel, able bodied people queuing for a lift to rise one or two floors. Seems to be the norm.

[@rogerbradley5213]

Until recently I taught in buildings where it was common for students to take the lifts, where I would always take the stairs. It did get challenging when given a classroom on the 10th floor though...

[@russellbaston974]

It’s set to get worse imho. Most schools now seem to be ‘drive ins’ ,rubbish, convenience food, activities by the majority of young now minimal. I’m of relatively mature years and have sought to lead a good healthy lifestyle, and seem to raise eyebrows among my peers when asked what medications ( plural of course) I take and I reply none.

[@abstract33]

It's down to food and lifestyle. And it's down to attitude; old and sick is a self fulfilling prophesy.

[@OghamTheBold]

I think I developed a landless bad attitude in 1984 when I was forced in a labour camp with the college Physics prize and advanced Maths a year early

[@Badassmutha]

Worst take ever😂

[@alexandrabryden6143]

Junk food prob started in Scotland in the mid seventies when we were 16, we drank more alcohol than the generation before. We were starting to all get cars. You could say the 70's were the start of crap .

[@bernieburrows3731]

Don't forget that Thatcher came to power in 1979.. Her neoliberalism focused on privatisation/small state..

[@nigelwestman4740]

@@bernieburrows3731 That was intended to give everyone more choice in relation to the options available to them. If people chose to make the wrong decision then the blame can’t be placed at the feet of Thatcher

[@lesleysaunders8088]

Just want to point out Life Expectancy is dropping- people are in fact dying younger & have been doing since 2014.

[@claudiafigueiredo4979]

Stress

[@bernieburrows3731]

Inequality

[@nigelwestman4740]

Yes, strange isn’t it? We see no end of articles saying the state pension in its current format is unaffordable with projections of how much it will cost the UK by 2040. On the other hand we’re told that pension age should be increased to age 70 but as the actuarial age of death has been falling for over 10 years now, we’re reaching the position that the average age of death may very soon be in the late 70’s This would mean that many pensioners would be receiving their state pension for less than a decade. It’s therefore becoming very difficult to reconcile the actual facts with the rhetoric that we need to reduce the state pension or increase the age at which everyone will qualify for it. Why does the state try to manipulate the facts?

[@leejohnson3209]

It worries me just how many working age people seem to suffer from poor mental health issues that lead to addictions and poor lifestyles, from which other health problems occur. I think much of it is down to low wages, insecure employment and housing which causes stress. TV and social media just compound the problem. I've heard from so many people that say they used to enjoy their job, but now hate it. They feel over worked and under valued. When the wage, which was the reward at the end of the month barely covers the bills for many people, society has big problems with a sick, unproductive, demotivated workforce. This is why I am so angry with Labour and their decision to continue austerity when I think society is crying out for change, a message of hope. Labour have done the opposite, and I just wonder how far people can be pushed by politicians not reading the room, and not doing what is now desperately needed. _________ EDIT: I welcome Labour taking steps to improve workers and renters rights on principal without knowing the detail. But austerity has to end, it's been 14 years since 2010. People are fed up of public services being cut and effectively rationed, it has similarities with WW2 rationing which, incidentally lasted 14 years. Now like then, after 14 years people are fed up of it. WW2 rationing was necessary, post 2010 austerity was a political choice and one Labour do not have to continue to make!

[@lisaglaze250]

What about chemicals on our food and in our homes?

[@skyblazeeterno]

Maybe just maybe we should concentrate more on having a quality life than a long life...

[@roymillsjnr5172]

I think the nations diet as changed , and the exercise regime of older people , and mental well being ,and don't forget standard of living . Yes technology and drugs may expand life ,but your immune system and well being is important . I'm poor financially but rich mentally , today I will walk into town ,jog at times with a 100lb burgen of my back ,jog a little , and sometimes I push my self to extremes , I can't remember the enzyme it releases , but it makes you live longer , my reflexes are as quick as a 20 year old . But I must add this ,poor dental health doesn't help with health ,and this government knows it ,it's a disgrace .

[@helenheenan3447]

And if you have joint pain due to arthritis, basic wear and tear, and are living in pain for years, waiting for routine surgery, then you rapidly lose muscle strength. 2 years for a hip replacement now, when 12 years ago it was 4 months.

[@patrickdegenaar9495]

When I was growing up, the Ulster fry (every orifice of a pig fried in lard) was considered extremely unhealthy and we all switched over to breakfast cereals. Without realising how utterly toxic they are!! Even the milk alone without the cereal contains around 40g of sugar (lactose)!!!.. And on an empty morning stomach sends my glucose levels straight into the diabetic regime!! And I'm not diabetic! Then there is the rest of the crap we eat for lunch and the unhealthy convenience foods many eat for dinner....

[@mmcd256]

Milk is one of the most natural forms of nutrition. It is the first food most newborns receive and thrive on. I suspect along with or after pasteurisation preservatives are now added (I say this as I have had milk which has kept for around 10 days; refrigerated).

[@zetectic7968]

@@mmcd256 Filtered milk?

[@zetectic7968]

OP is wrong " From Diabetes UK " Half a pint of milk has around 13g of carbohydrate. For comparison purposes, half a pint of sugary cola has around 30g of carbohydrate. If you are having a glass of milk, be aware that it will raise your blood glucose levels to some degree. Because of the fat content, whole milk will tend to raise blood glucose levels slightly less quickly than skimmed milk"

[@peterdollins3610]

In my case at 82 Long Covid given me by then PM Johnson in cutting the mild safety measures in place in 2020 so I lost 80% of my strength & energy after Johnsin agreed with his Backbenchers 'The Old need to die.' Fact severl of my friends did die & a younger professor known writer friend spent three years in bed. One Million UK Citizens went down with Long Covid. Many dying. The billionaire class putting out junk processed foods overloaded with Sugar, Salt & Trans fats in their gleaming sickness supermarkets.

[@OghamTheBold]

Sainsbury’s strength sapping sickness supermarkets sponsor Sir St...

[@stevencalvert9454]

Johnson didn't give you covid mate you chose to go out when he eased the measures that was your choice and not his fault

[@jessiegleaves9037]

You can’t blame Boris that is ridiculous

[@stevencalvert9454]

@jessiegleaves9037 🤣🤣 stupidest thing I have ever heard that. People will blame the tories for anything now

[@davelou1995]

It was less Johnson and more Sunak in the end but started with Johnson and Hancock. The Government didn’t have a clue and had stripped any capacity out of the NHS and Local Government to cope. So yes, I see why you chose Johnson for your ire

[@petersmith6520]

Diseases were not identified and reported as much previously as they are today. Secondly, atmosperic nuclear testing in the 50s and early 60s has contributed to high cancer rates

[@moomin7461]

Well said. It's funny how people always gloss over the effect of radiation. Just because you can't see it, doesn't mean it's not there and cancers can take years to develop.

[@SuperIcekool]

An excellent point. Perhaps government ought to fund research into radiation rather than the CO2 hoax. Of course, the MoD denied compensation claims to ten's of thousands of soldiers and sailors were refused for decades, who witnessed atomic explosion to most were deceased.

[@mickc6700]

Processed carbohydrates are a massive problem. The introduction of the Chorley Wood baking method was followed a few years later by a concomitant rise in bowel cancer.

[@fylbike]

More of the second cohort, had sedentary jobs, did not live local to their workplaces (to which they could walk) than the first cohort. This 'background' physical exercise has probably contributed to the findings in this study.

[@Tensquaremetreworkshop]

They are not cohorts, it is a continuum. Extend life by 30% (as we have since WW2) and add meds that prolong life but with symptoms, and what do you expect? Richard spots a study, and tries to fit it to his food theories. He may know accounting, but seems to have less than a passing acquaintance with statistics. Or causality.

[@fylbike]

@Tensquaremetreworkshop they are cohorts, the study identified two distinct groups pre-war and post-war.

[@nigelwestman4740]

@@fylbike Eating habits changed dramatically over the course of that 2 decades. The older generation still had a relatively healthy approach to eating whilst the younger generation cooked less for themselves and graduated to a diet largely based on processed foods. Says it all really

[@Tensquaremetreworkshop]

'As long as ever' - nope. Life expectancy 1950 63, Now 82. Massively different. People are sicker because- 1) they now live long enough to have more illnesses 2) better health care means they are more likely to survive, and then have another illness 3) Medication allows conditions that used to kill you, to be survived- but with symptoms. 4) When poor health was punished (no work) you hid it; when rewarded (benefits etc) you announce it. 5) Many are not sick, just infirm. Not the same thing- they are wearing out. Simple. Even your AAF view of the world must recognize this. Rationing- those born after the war also experienced rationing. Look it up.

[@countryman5329]

Some very good points there, but what is AAF, though? Thanks

[@Tensquaremetreworkshop]

@@countryman5329 It is short for 'ar*e about face' i.e. looking at things backwards. In his economic theories, he often sees consequences as being causes. He does this here- starting with 'elderly are living as long as ever' when the increasing life expectancy over time is well documented. If you argue from false premises, it is unlikely you will get the correct results.

[@Bangkokrover]

Ultra high processed food keeps a person sick and in need of medications, but doesn’t kill in most cases. Big pharmaceutical companies, owned by the same conglomerates as the food companies sell the medications. A wash, rinse, repeat process from cradle to grave (eventually). A great business model. It would be interesting to see a spreadsheet analysis of the lifetime value of a person, cradle to grave to one of these companies.

[@maskedavenger2578]

It’s due to things like remote controls on TVs & more labour saving devices , more cars leading to lack of exercise . Also the diet & the chemicals in modern processed foods , more long term stress , side effects from medications . Most of my medications state that they shouldn’t be taken with other medications I have been also prescribed . I have to take them or I would soon end up in the bone yard if I didn’t. . If I complained about every ailment I suffer , I would need van to load my prescription drugs in , to carry them all home .

[@PlanofBattle]

The question then is whether this is very likely to be the outcome in 10 years time for people in their mid 50s.

[@patarciepaul]

We're living longer knackered.

[@rjw4762]

My friend is a GP. 5 years back, he commented to me " We are very good in this country at keeping ill people alive". He admitted that he'd never say that in public, but he said we have this approach of pumping people with drugs to keep them going - something other nations do not do.

[@MargaretDeakin-d6m]

1.wellbeing and job security changed in 80s.Being treated as a unit of production was difficult to adjust to. 2. NHS over prescription of drugs gave people impression that a pill could solve medical issues. Caused de-motivation from takin responsibility for own health. 3.Rise in earnings,rise in hours worked by men and women.Processed foods eaten more.More calories consumed, in lower nutrients foods. 4.obesity. possibly partly caused by toxic additives to processed foods messing up metabolism. 5.Lack of exercise.too many hours staring at a screen. Modern work life,then the reality that two working parents did not give a good quality of life for many people,did cause much stress and ill health.increase in smoking,drug and alcohol consumption. Is it really surprising that people are sicker in old age?

[@darrenfenton9280]

Oils with a shelf life. Plus sugar.

[@bakakafka4428]

Nah, the whole modern foods industry. Read Dr Van Tulleken's 'Ultra Processed People'. And the increasing air polution and... The list goes on.

[@tomrigby7016]

Because of our government

[@Jenks1]

I hope I'm not around long enough to get old, it sounds bad.

[@paulgibbons2320]

Big pharma. Profitability. Getting treatment for depression. Ask them for help, which doesn't come in tablet form. You will be overwhelmed by the lack of options. Your doctor will treat you as a prior if you don't accept the medications.

[@0skar9193]

My cynical mind kicks in. Why is it that so many people (especially those older 60) are on so many meds? And yet people seem to be more ill generally. It's a great money maker for the pharma industry isn't it.

[@infrasleep]

Because we have this stupid "Live forever" policy. In the past people expected to die around 70-not that many have worthwhile quality lives into their 80's ,but "Live forever" forces medical "care" onto people that would have simply died of these natural causes 40/50 years ago. There is no "Dramatic increase in dementia" ,its simply because we keep people alive ,forced to "live forever" despite zero life quality and expensive misery for the sufferer and family the only outcome.

[@meltimmins6368]

My parents were born in the late 1920s. But both died in their mid 60s from forms of cancer. Lived in council housing till the early 1970s. But in a coal industry area. My old man when the Sunday beef joint was used would scrape the pan for the beef dripping! He worked in the pits then industrial jobs including building construction and as a fitters mate. Myself I worked for over forty years as an maintenance and installation work until 2019 I lost my job on the grounds of capability. As I have arthritis in my toes, ankles which are unstable, knees, fingers and thumbs in both hands and lumbar spondylitis. As a bairn I was plagued with bronchitis and in later life developed asthma(which in the main is controlled unless I get a cold and then I have developed severe acute asthma). Along with high blood pressure and recently high cholesterol and fibromyalgia. I was a fan of Birds Eye beef burgers, home made potato scallops, sausages etc in my 40s and I remember my dad saying “ you’ll regret eating that stuff”. Then a few years ago in a BP review the nurse commented on my weight and if I’d like do something about it. So I enrolled in a 10 week nhs well being course centred around sat fats, salt, sugars, fibre etc. And through that learning I changed my whole perspective around what I eat and drink. And subsequently the whole rabbits hole of UPFs. To my untrained eye I’d put some of this down to the environment and lifestyle your brought up in incl wealth/poor, is it a industrial setting where you live, what you are eating, being overweight you’re less likely to exercise, is it a physical and manual occupation(as in my work I crawled around on floors, ducting and lofts, chopped brick work and plaster out and carried heavy drums of cable) leading to wear and tear of joints etc. Combine these factors and you’ll face a tsunami of conditions earlier! Sorry for the longish ramble…

[@robinbeckford]

The healthier oldies had a frugal but healthy diet, and walked or bicycled much, much more.

[@snowiecat456]

The thing that has had the biggest impact on people's financial security is Thatcher and her unregulated free market economy. This has also allowed food manufacturers to put whatever the hell they like in our food including stuff like anti-freeze in ice cream and dangerous E numbers in our food. These have now been banned following campaigns but god knows what other stuff is in food still. Being in the EU kept our food safer but that has now gone. You have only got to look at what has been allowed to happen to our rivers and the outbreak of e-coli in Devon becausr of the bacteria in our water. And you are right about muscle mass. People think you have to go running or weight training and it puts them off. When you are older you need to concentrate on CORE strength to avoid falls and broken bones especially hips. I'm 70 and I go once a week to a Resistance Band session. It can be done sitting down but the exercise are the equivalent of weight training and push ups designed to strengthen biceps, hip, thigh and calf muscles, improve balance whilst protecting joints from undue stress. There are people in the group who are 80+ and in their mobility has improved vastly over the 21 weeks we have been doing it. It's good for your mental health too.

[@chibiarts9029]

Becouse life is so hard and stressful now and half of society has no comunity around them because modern british society creates almost no opetunitys for socialisation to adults and not having any social ties causes a lot of stress

[@FrankyRemo]

The following seem to be the main issues that affect us boomers: Sedentary lifestyle Lack of exercise (resistance and cardio), which can lead to sarcopenia Poor diet: not enough protein, lack of fiber, and too much saturated fat. Address these things, and you'll be well on your way to improving your healthspan.

[@Jethro-q6u]

Saturated fat is not bad for you. It is carbohydrates that is bad. My grandparents generation ate a high fat diet and were lean and strong into their 90's.

[@sososoprano1]

@@Jethro-q6u- no, it’s refined carbohydrates that are bad for you, not that food group in itself.

[@FrankyRemo]

@@Jethro-q6u Note: I did say too much saturated fat, and different sources of fat also have an effect. I'm not anti-sat., however there are healthier fats to be had.

[@custardaddict]

I have often wondered why humans get so sick. Compared to pets for example. I put it down to chemicals that are now banned but were used in the farming process and factory procedures. Plus all those childhood injections. Now I know we don´t see the Polio injured any more, because of the vaccine, but that doesn´t meant there are no long term side effects.

[@gordonwilson1631]

It’s not prosperity of wellbeing but prosperity of consumption.

[@richardhasler6718]

Is it also possible that part of this can be explained by earlier generations may have had significant numbers dying younger and not appearing in the statistics but those that lived to their 70s may have been the strongest, healthy minority (due to DNA etc), whereas baby boomers might have lived longer in greater numbers but this includes a larger group of less healthy individuals?

[@bobmeister0253]

There are twice as many take away shops as there were 10 years ago. People are eating rubbish daily instead of a weekly or a monthly treat. We have yet another McDonalds being built near our house soon. We are the 51st state without the guns

[@tobyroy336]

I exercise regularly because I have seen the types of decline you've talked about in my parents. My father was a doctor and he ate crap whilst working long hours as a gynaecologist followed by over 2 decades as a GP. The lack of exercise and poor diet means he's now a vegetable pretty much. Still alive because of big pharma, but not exactly living. Its almost like the marriage between big pharma and the food corps has created this tsunami. I'd personally rather die at 50 from a heart attack than be sustained by the unfruitful union of agriculture and medicine depriving people of any decent quality of life.

[@indricotherium4802]

Something about the post war mood of things getting better for everyone changed probably in the '80s and ever since it's been going stressfully more and more the other way. People weigh a loss higher than a gain of equal value and both the experience and the narrative have been increasingly about taking and accepting losses (putting the same in to get less or doing more to get the same). This is bound to have effects.

[@helenheenan3447]

Things did start to change radicaly in the '80s. It's no coincidence that Margaret Thatcher, elected in 1979, told us there is nosuch thing as society, and started the neoloiberal coup that has lasted ever since. Labour should be exposing this failure of right wing ideology, but instead thay are continiung the failed austerity policies.

[@davidmulliner829]

Lack of movement; comfortable [lazy] lives; too much [processed] food; too many prescription drugs. The number of disability trolleys clogging up the footpaths and supermarket aisles is shocking. There is a gadget to do everything and people have become incapable of thinking or moving. Rant over... 😜

[@Fabbydabby1]

It could also be down as you say prescription drugs as humans are not meant to live as long as what is currently happening

[@sososoprano1]

I see a lot more people mobility scooters where I live now, some my age, some a lot younger. It’s an area where a lot of people are poor. I guess there must be a connection. I feel lucky that I couldn’t afford a car until I learned to drive in my 50s and even then was near enough to work so I could cycle or walk, which I almost always did.

[@Badassmutha]

​@@Fabbydabby1how long are we meant to live?

[@Alan_Duval]

If I may proffer one possibility which, I would immediately say is one of many probable paths to this stuation (because of course): epigenetic markers associated with the relative deprivation of the war (and rationing, until 1954, in the UK), coupled with the social anxieties born of that time -- like, clear your plate because you don't know when your next good meal will be coming (even though the next good meal was in the fridge and/or freezer) -- would give rise to a higher abundance of food but also forced over-consumption in a body that was epigenetically expecting deprivation.

[@grahampartridge9335]

I'm in my 50's . I've aggressively avoided process food all my life. Time to live and Food prices affect this drastically

[@keithmartland6463]

Fast food outlets are the problem?

[@frmcf]

There's a kind of "boomer exceptionalism": many people of a certain age in Britain tend to think that they can get away with having terrible lifestyle and diet habits and that nothing bad will happen to them. The generation that has this attitude is now reaching the age that all the processed food and driving everywhere is catching up with them.

[@sososoprano1]

I’m a year older than this cohort and have never eaten the type of food illustrated. However, I do remember my mother railing against a younger woman she worked with who refused to put sugar in her baby’s milk bottle. No wonder I have terrible teeth!

[@jessiegleaves9037]

What?what a load of tosh! Younger people are obese well before they are even middle aged! The “ boomers” walked to work,they had hard manual jobs,not like today sitting on your back side staring at a screen.Just take a look around .It just sounds like you have a beef with the “ boomers” to me!

[@stepheng9607]

One of the other factors that you did not mention was that the generation in our 60s are having to care for very elderly parents that have lived into their late 80s and 90s together with providing childcare for grandchildren. They are the squeezed generation. The collapse in adult social care and the cost of living crisis for the younger generation means that not only do we worry about these things but we are having to pick up the pieces, whilst being blamed for everything. That means stress, which also means that you do not take care of yourself as well as you should.

[@marcopolotimetraveller]

Safe and effective.

[@NotnotKingofficial]

Survivorship bias.

[@avasmith3451]

Ill answer that ‘ Russian roulette armpokes ‘ and its not just the ‘ elderly ‘

[@zetectic7968]

An anti-vaxer 🤣

[@leonardgibney2997]

I'm 82 and in good health. Lifestyle is important. No tobacco no alcohol good varied diet keep moving early to bed early to rise. Keep mentally active, interests. I rise 6-7am retire 9-11pm

[@zodd67]

Post WW2 I believe meat/egg production was ramped up then eventually more processed stuff started coming out with high sugar + salt and saturated fats, I think people don't realise things like deli meats are carcinogenic. Also alcohol. For diet alone a whole food plant based diet is likely best for positive outcomes, but exercise and mental health do play a role but they are all linked

[@alansdorsetfossils4028]

I do believe that during WW2 in Holland the civilian population were very short on food. Close to starvation in the closing months of the war. Cancer rates fell drastically.

[@Jaymark-gk4li]

Ahh this was the video I couldn't find lol😅

[@lks6248]

Poor diet and inadequate exercise. Rubbish in, rubbish out. No rocket science needed.

[@lks6248]

We don’t have more uncertainty and stress than the silent generation who faced WW2 and a scant welfare state, but we may well have a good deal less resilience!

[@maggielucas8685]

I'm 67, obese, in pain every day of my life. Pain l caused myself from food addiction. Food addiction is as bad as any other addiction.

[@debsmith5520]

This isn't odd. It is a survivor effect. Disability-free Life-expectancy is adversely affected by improvements in treatments and society. For example, strokes, heart attacks, cancer are now more survivable. But this survival comes often with disability or diseases later in life. There is a price. Other factors, lessening of death by risk-taking or riskier pursuits, accidental or violent-death, play their part too. The idiot who in the past died wrapping a car around a tree, gets to live but in a wheelchair, the idiot who would of shortened their life misusing drugs gets to live but on methadone with all the disadvantages that brings. These are just two examples, but the stats show clearly survivability's price.

[@ΑΣΔΦΓΗΞΚΛ]

Entropy? Ah, poor diet and pollution. "Improved lifestyle" of UPF, labour saving and stressing about Armageddon? Richard, told you before, you listened but you only heard half of it. Sufficiency, excess isn't sufficiency.

[@OnlineEnglish-wl5rp]

Western medicine is failing to treat many illnesses or actually making new problems. Our food is also very often unhealthy

[@alastairjhunter3666]

It begins with v

[@joprocter4573]

Social services and nursing homes want more profits n money

[@jillmorris2521]

What is not considered is the importance of having good teeth healthy teeth not infected are going bad, I’m killing affordable dentistry young who can afford private and the elderly who are United treatment the nations teeth are in a really bad way and lots and lots of illnesses begin with teeth. The poison accumulate in the gums that affect the nerves blood vessels an lymph glands . This is not even taken to Account the lack of immediate healthcare for illness of the body people waiting for treatment aren’t getting better. They’re getting worse and in case it’s too late !!!!

[@joegroup1]

Primarily it’s probably the ultra processed foods, and secondly, the sedentary lifestyle relative to the lifestyle of people in the past, that causing people to live longer but in more ill health. I had a heart attack six years ago, I was 16 stones, and my diet was fast convenient food. After my heart attack I went back to a well-rounded diet, which my mother fed me as a child, of veg, nuts, fruit and meat from a butchers. I lost 3 stones in weight in about a year, and I feel better. I also, walk 3 miles each evening, as well, as walking during the day catching public transport. On the second point, people in the past didn’t have the mod-cons in their homes. I remember as a child my Gran having a bit of a moan to my Mom, saying she was getting idle, going to the launderette, while my Gran was using a mangle, and dolly and tub for washing her clothes. Also, there not so many jobs that involved arduous physical labour, like coal mining, steel making, metal bashing. So there needs to be public information films made by the government nudging, persuading people to eat a well-rounded diet, and to physically and mentally exercise each and every day.

[@garysmith5025]

One reason above all others, refined sugar.

[@anonanon289]

Interesting to speculate whether there were long term protective benefits from rationing in WW2, possibly mediated through caloric restriction.

[@kalliste23]

Smoking is now uncommon. Dementia is up when old codgers could be taking nicotine the traditional way. Also smoking acts as an appetite inhibitor.

[@tonyd7601]

Mr/Dr Murphy how about statins, crazy pills, and happy pills.

[@200405InVision]

Yep, for sure you're what you eat? As one who has abstained and then over did it repeatedly, I can comment from personal experience. The government isn't as cynical as folk think and will take measures to sort us out. Recent examples? Confectionary and snack portion changes recommended to makers. Smoking made antisocial, (quite rightly imo). Alcohol similarly. Health education amongst young people is encouraged. It all looks like transition as the excesses of the post war dream consumerism is corrected in line with human evolution trying to keep up with it all. Then there is the NHS. The long term effects of antibiotics and dental treatment are only being revealed. Dare I say it the contraceptive pill? Air travel? Taking viruses etc around the globe much quicker. COVID proved that one. Oh well! I've said enough already. 😊

[@safirahmed]

Money Saving Expert had a table from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on retirement. The table shows current age and average life expectancy in 5 year bands with life expectancy reduced from 89 years for those currently aged 80 down to 84 years for those currently aged 40 to 60. ONS has statistics for life expectancy and in many areas the life expectancy is lower and the worst areas have much lower average life expectancy such as 74 years of age. The average life expectancy for the poor and homeless will be much lower.

[@bearsbreeches]

And you can't get to see a doctor anymore

[@robjmck]

Sedentary lifestyle can also lead to long life as women are the perfect example and much ignored. Women are dying younger and catching up with men as they are forced to compete in work enviroment. So a fine example that sedentary lifestyles can indeed lead to long life and not just about diet and fitness!

[@safirahmed]

Highly processed refined seed oils that could be called industrial lubricants could be an issue.

[@shaunmiller7370]

To the commentators and Richard put these points to random people and see what your response back is, and I think you find it interesting and puzzling because humans live in the here and now we don’t live in the future the same goes for everyone of you. They are healthy today 20 years time who knows it’s getting over that puzzle to get them to look 20 years old and governments only look five years when they should be looking 30, 40,50 years down the road and that goes for every human being on the planet here and now

[@CatholicSatan]

I really do not understand the table you showed. It shows the rates of diseases are going _down_ not up. Eg: Cancer for 1925-1935 cohort is 19% of the total, for the 1955-1959 cohort, it's 8%. And this is the same for all diseases. Furthermore, the grip strength figures (in kg) shows an _increase_ which is better for longevity. So how come the conclusion is that later cohorts are sicker??

[@jr-cx1ve]

roll the jumper or sleeve

[@philiphall4805]

ever considered over-diagnosis ? cancer is most certainly over diagnosed and testing healthy people has no medical benefit yet everyone thinks it does , I am happy to go when my number is up and I do not want to be jump started

[@fredhayward1350]

Interesting.... and of course sicker older numbers of people means more costs.

[@Tensquaremetreworkshop]

It is the other way around- the more you spend on health care the more older people you will have. Who are more likely to be sick ('wounded' by the illness they were cured of) but also infirm. We have extended average lifespan by ~30% over the last 70 years- what do you expect would happen?

[@OghamTheBold]

Atrocity of anti‐human avaricious austerity accelerated axing of Albion's ailing and aged

[@Tensquaremetreworkshop]

@@OghamTheBold alliterized arguments always avoid actual achievements- accept atonement and alter activity.

[@OghamTheBold]

@@Tensquaremetreworkshop “Achievement[s]”-any actually arriving? Awaiting amazement at astounding award-winning or altruistic almighty ardour 🤔

[@Tensquaremetreworkshop]

@@OghamTheBold antipathy awaits anyone accepting actuality arrives at an alliterized aspect. Alternatives auger apposite agreement.

[@archkod]

As an avid 68 yo cyclist (100 miles/week) + 3 strength training sessions per week, 2 additional considerations: 1] We treat chronic illnesses as a natural path of aging and give a pill to dampen the symptoms. False,. This is the US model which with reduced NHS capability becomes more the norm. Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure are not(generally) hereditary but are environmental - you create the problem. As anti-medication as I am, I do think we need to give NHS patients GLP-1 treatments WITH required behavior re-training including exercise classes + cooking classes. 2]Alcohol consumption is a public health crisis in the UK. Any amount of alcohol does damage to you including liver and sleep. Without good sleep, you damage your brain.

[@physiocrat7143]

Very good piece for once. Some hypotheses: 1. Starting wtih childhood diet - pre-1960 women cooked for their children from raw ingredients instead of going out to work. 2. Sugar rationing meant that children did not develop taste for it. 3. Working conditions insecurity and stress caused by bad management. 4. Car dependency and lack of exercise. 5. Lack of exercise opportunities due to closure of sports facilities and swimming pools. 5. Urban planning - necessity to use cars instead of walking. 6- Poor public transport also promoting car dependency. 7. Genetic decline - before 1900, families were much larger with natural selection picking off the weakest children, who would now survive to have children of their own as a result of medical intervention; smaller families mean that there is no natural selection of the fittest. A lot of teenagers and people in their twenties seem to have what would have been called weak constitutions.

[@christinavuyk2026]

7 and especially 2 are nonsense 🤔

[@physiocrat7143]

@@christinavuyk2026 1 to 7 are presented as hypotheses, ie possible explanations. They are not assertions. If you disagree, please elaborate and explain why 2 and 7 are nonsense. I look forward to reading your response.

[@Teenibash1969]

The western countries eat a lot more processed food and a lot more E numbers and toxic additives, imo.

[@zetectic7968]

The EU clamped down on E number & other additive long time ago which applies to UK as well. Only in the US & Canada to they allow additives that are banned in Europe e.g. Mountain Dew

[@SlowJoe9114]

Modern life is really unhealthy, thanks to all the flaws and marvels of humanity. Let's factor in the increasing levels of pollutants, think about just how lead in fuel and food tins contaminated the environment and people with no choice in it. Caused many illnesses and lowered many peoples IQ and made them more violent. Then the stress of modern life, the accumulation of stresses that we activate by thought, like when we're stuck in congested traffic everyday. Diet is a huge one, look at what they do to food these days, modified, synthetic, unhealthy ultra processed food. Some kids are raised on diets nearly if not fully ultra processed.

[@Syn4kh]

Should it not be "are the elderly"

[@OghamTheBold]

🤔 Are the elderly … forgetting to put things in context? Are the elderly the only people who watched “Give Us a Clue” not available on BBC2?

[@lonevoice]

I don't have an answer but I do recognise that we have an aging population in the future a reduced younger generation will have a huge burden of looking after an increased retired population. If it is avoidable, what are the solutions? Will we rely on more automation and robotics to help? If not then there is a problem. Then there only seem to be three options: 1. Care and support to the elderly will diminish so that they don't live as long, 2. we encourage young families to start a family but when ownership and stability of a home is a mirage and job security is poor, it is hardly conducive to that, or 3. we rely on immigration but the public are against that. What's going to give?

[@NetZeroNo]

The baby boomers never had it so good. Their parents went through a war that toughened them up, a more basic diet but sufficient rather than excessive and lots of physical jobs in factories, mines etc. The baby boomers had to go to the gym for exercise - unheard of and unnecessary before. Soft desk jobs (and working from home is going to make things worse), driving (rather than running for the bus or walking) and easy eating all add to bad health outcomes. No surprises really.

[@moomin7461]

People have worked from home for decades. My father was self employed most of his life, working from home. He had kept slim and off medication through daily exercise and small meal sizes. I see plenty of obese people who go to work in offices. The reason they're overweight is because they drive to work and eat at their desks.

[@NetZeroNo]

@@moomin7461 yes I agree with you. Working from home was of course the norm before factories became a thing. Though farm work of course was very Labour intensive before machinery was available.

[@borderlands6606]

The baby boom was between 1946 and 1964. Apart from the tail end, life consisted of walking. Everywhere. Look at street scenes of people from the mid-50s to the mid-80s. Fatties were the exception. The gym lifestyle is C21st phenomenon, yet people are fatter and more sick.

[@NetZeroNo]

@@borderlands6606 totally agree - a very fair point. But very few boomers went into hard manual labouring jobs. Also they "benefitted" from the end of rationing in their childhood which led to very high sugar diets. Most boomers that I know did start with the gym in their 40s and 50s. Look at people's shoes! The generation that was taught to polish their shoes every day are now wearing slip ons like the millennials. Bending down is too hard!

[@Mike-mm4mx]

Too much processed food with additives that is being forced on us. The government has no interest in dealing with this as its highly profitable for the companies concerned, even though its leading to increasing problems for the NHS. Also we are much more sedentary now. People in the past would have been far more physically active, done hard physical jobs, while we have become lazy and rely on all sorts of labour saving technology. You can even sit on a lawn mower now instead of push it! We should be thinking more in terms of long-term preventive care, better health education and giving people more informed choices. And lastly, we should spend less time looking at screens. So its time to get up and do some exercise-walk to the kitchen and make another coffee and eat some processed bread.

[@doreenhollywood7459]

Medication. Statins in particular are not good for you

[@HughJason]

Too much focus on the UK and US.

[@clarecollins2547]

I have a theory. Which i think there will be an explosion of info sometime soon!

[@crippsuniverse]

I just can't watch videos with hard coded subtitles!

[@helenheenan3447]

You don'thave to look at the screen, it's just a talking head, not an action movie.

[@crippsuniverse]

@@helenheenan3447 I find I absorb information easier when I watch the person speaking. The subtitles interfere. It's one of those KZbin trends that everyone follows without thinking.

[@roseannatyrrell4498]

I'd guess flu jabs or covid jabs.

[@zetectic7968]

W⚓

[@arthurdixon5890]

Born in 1950. Still working full time in a physically and mentally demanding job. I’m lucky as many my age are not as lucky.

[@OghamTheBold]

Luckily you didn't let the cat out of the bag 🐈 and reveal this lucky occupation or everyone will want to chance their luck at it

[@russellbaston974]

You’ve also inherited ’good genes.’

[@arthurdixon5890]

@@russellbaston974 My grandparents lived into their 90’s but my parents both died at 47 years old. I just feel I have been lucky. I have never smoked.

[@arthurdixon5890]

@@OghamTheBold Multi-skilled engineer. On roofs, in plant rooms and up ladders 😂.

[@OghamTheBold]

@@arthurdixon5890 Up a housing _ladder_ 🪜 Gran's home was £1,ooo 👍 I never smoked 🚭 sacked for 2020 pneumonia (ICU on a COPD ward)❓ Was it _luck_ they gave bosses £1OOKs or _lucky_ United Utilities took food and heat in winter atop bedroom tax? 🤔 Broadcast tower US$2OK a day (work few days a year) 🪜 Younger guy than us working lower than towers was saved by his harness-but dangled so long cost of a harness was a poor share of profits

[@kyam3331]

Fasting is brilliant

[@Tensquaremetreworkshop]

Yes, do it for a couple of months and you will never be sick again...

[@OghamTheBold]

DWP help another 50,000 with “fast” funerals

[@jonp3216]

Poor diet, poor exercise, stress, yes. But, this does not explain falling insect and bird populations. I have Electrohypersensitivity, proven in double -blind tests. I can't escape low level electro-magnetic fields, they hurt. Other people, birds and insects can't escape either, does it affect them? Scientists say yes.