Life Expectancy - Ceases to Improve

[shyvas]

Life expectancy in the UK has stopped improving for the first time since 1982, when figures began.
Women's life expectancy from birth remains 82.9 years and for men it is 79.2, the figures from the Office for National Statistics, for 2015-17, show.

In some parts of the UK, life expectancy has even decreased.

The data also shows that the UK lags behind other leading countries for life expectancy, including Switzerland, Japan, France, the Netherlands, Spain and Italy.

UK life expectancy progress 'has stopped'

 

[Second Summer]

That's maybe not a surprise in a country with extreme and increasing inequality combined with 'austerity'

 

[Moll Flanders]

I'm cracking up at some of the comments at the bottom.

Someone was saying it was the fault of Labour to bring in 24 hour drinking and someone replied:

Not sure it's Labour's fault that some people saw that as a challenge.

 

[shyvas]

Some interesting facts :

UK life expectancy drops while other Western countries improve

 

[Second Summer]

Should the so-called opioid crisis in the U.S. be considered a primary cause of death, or just a result of an increasing number of sick people no longer able to afford actual treatment and therefore resorting to opioids for pain management?

 

[shyvas]

Should the so-called opioid crisis in the U.S. be considered a primary cause of death, or just a result of an increasing number of sick people no longer able to afford actual treatment and therefore resorting to opioids for pain management?

I saw a documentary a few months ago on opioid deaths due to overuse of the drug. Apparently, people are using them instead of heroin and other more expensive drugs.

 

[Moll Flanders]

Some interesting facts :

UK life expectancy drops while other Western countries improve

It doesn't really explain why, it might just be a blip.

I often have half hour appointments with my GP as he works very early hours and the surgery is often empty at that time of day. The appointments are only supposed to be 10 minutes long, but he breaks the rules, lol. We were talking about the flu jab and he was saying that the experts make educated guesses about the strains of flu, but they have made the wrong guess for a few years in a row. It says there though that the increased deaths caused by flu outbreaks or pneumonia were only found in 3 countries: Italy, Germany and the US so that wouldn't explain it either.

 

[Celibataire]

The decrease in longevity is due to rising levels of obesity, symptomatic of sedentary lifestyles and to lesser degree poor diet (though it has long been poor, with American junk food just having superseded traditional British stodge, though Greggs are fighting back!). These sedentary lifestyles are because Britain has now become a 'Drive Thru' culture, which is hardly a symptom of austerity. I also worry about the health of people who work in these establishments as they must be breathing in a high level of carbon monoxide from leaning out of a window into what is effectively a queue of traffic with idling engines. Added to that, most people now drive to do their shopping even if the nearest supermarket or choice of them is only a ten minute walk away. What has happened in Britain is that since the 1970's and the decline of heavy industry, average daily calorific inputs have fallen but average daily calorific expenditure has fallen even further leaving a net gain.

 

[Moll Flanders]

I saw a documentary a few months ago on opioid deaths due to overuse of the drug. Apparently, people are using them instead of heroin and other more expensive drugs.

I saw a piece on the news the other day about how there is a big problem with opioid misuse in the UK, especially in the deprived parts of the north.

When I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia they prescribed me with Pregabalin and that is now classed as a controlled class C drug. I only took it for a few months but it did make me feel drunk or if I was on a drug and the painkilling effects wore off so you needed to take more and more. I am glad I could come off it by using other methods.

I have spoken to quite a few other people with fibromyalgia where I live and a couple of them told me they had become addicted to Tramadol and Morphine.

 

[Val]

I saw a piece on the news the other day about how there is a big problem with opioid misuse in the UK, especially in the deprived parts of the north.

When I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia they prescribed me with Pregabalin and that is now classed as a controlled class C drug. I only took it for a few months but it did make me feel drunk or if I was on a drug and the painkilling effects wore off so you needed to take more and more. I am glad I could come off it by using other methods.

I have spoken to quite a few other people with fibromyalgia where I live and a couple of them told me they had become addicted to Tramadol and Morphine.

Wow! You were taking Pregabalin too?! I certainly missed something! I take it on a daily basis,- 75 milligrams 4 times a day. But it helps me. Perhaps, without it, i would be like VeganNatasha, who is no longer on VV (she's suffering badly, and i feel pity for her). Such a poor quality of life she has...
I also have a young acquaintance, 16-y.o. girl Mary, who has a spinal cord tumor, and Pregabalin doesn't help her at all.
Maybe, it helps me because it's a calcium channel blocker, and it's meant mostly for polyneuropathy. But what i don't understand, is why on some brands (not on P.-Richter) it's written that it's an antiepileptic drug.
Here's my current Pregabalin (a Russian one). As you can see, with a tiny font below, it's written: "Antiepileptic remedy". Lol, from what you were telling me once upon a time, i assume that you understand cyrillic alphabet.☺

 

[Moll Flanders]

Wow! You were taking Pregabalin too?! I certainly missed something! I take it on a daily basis,- 75 milligrams 4 times a day. But it helps me. Perhaps, without it, i would be like VeganNatasha, who is no longer on VV (she's suffering badly, and i feel pity for her). Such a poor quality of life she has...

Yes, it's usually Pregabalin or Gabapentin they put people with fibromyalgia on first along with an antidepressant to help with sleep. One of my doctors did ask if I wanted anything stronger than that. I've read that taking Tramadol can cause really bad itching on your skin after a while. Someone told me she had seen my friend that had fibromyalgia and her hair is falling out in clumps now as that can also be a side effect of taking Tramadol.

 

[Val]

Yes, it's usually Pregabalin or Gabapentin they put people with fibromyalgia on first along with an antidepressant to help with sleep. One of my doctors did ask if I wanted anything stronger than that. I've read that taking Tramadol can cause really bad itching on your skin after a while. Someone told me she had seen my friend that had fibromyalgia and her hair is falling out in clumps now as that can also be a side effect of taking Tramadol.

Ouch! Tramadol sounds like a pure evil! I tried Gabapentin too, but it wasn't any helpful. Bjaka (gross/nasty thing)...

 

[shyvas]

The decrease in longevity is due to rising levels of obesity, symptomatic of sedentary lifestyles and to lesser degree poor diet (though it has long been poor, with American junk food just having superseded traditional British stodge, though Greggs are fighting back!). These sedentary lifestyles are because Britain has now become a 'Drive Thru' culture, which is hardly a symptom of austerity. I also worry about the health of people who work in these establishments as they must be breathing in a high level of carbon monoxide from leaning out of a window into what is effectively a queue of traffic with idling engines. Added to that, most people now drive to do their shopping even if the nearest supermarket or choice of them is only a ten minute walk away. What has happened in Britain is that since the 1970's and the decline of heavy industry, average daily calorific inputs have fallen but average daily calorific expenditure has fallen even further leaving a net gain.

Back in the 50's until the 70's people were far slimmer in the UK. It's strange because even in those days, there were lots of confectionary and chocolates in the shops.
However, we usually did have a well balanced and home cooked meal at home in those days. We certainly were more active and walked and cycled a lot. No internet or mobile phones.

 

[Val]

Back in the 50's until the 70's people were far slimmer in the UK. It's strange because even in those days, there were lots of confectionary and chocolates in the shops.
However, we usually did have a well balanced and home cooked meal at home in those days. We certainly were more active and walked and cycled a lot. No internet or mobile phones.

The same is with soviet people. Only the "elite members" were obese.

 

[Celibataire]

Back in the 50's until the 70's people were far slimmer in the UK. It's strange because even in those days, there were lots of confectionary and chocolates in the shops.
However, we usually did have a well balanced and home cooked meal at home in those days. We certainly were more active and walked and cycled a lot. No internet or mobile phones.

The principal difference is car usage and tied to that, average commuting distances, both of which have increased considerably. You can even look at the size of cars, these have become wider as the population has become, ahem, broader. Compare a 1970's Mini Cooper with the current ones!

 

[Mischief]

I saw a documentary a few months ago on opioid deaths due to overuse of the drug. Apparently, people are using them instead of heroin and other more expensive drugs.

Actually, from what I am reading, heroin use in the U.S. is increasing dramatically because heroin is cheaper than the opiates.

 

[shyvas]

The principal difference is car usage and tied to that, average commuting distances, both of which have increased considerably. You can even look at the size of cars, these have become wider as the population has become, ahem, broader. Compare a 1970's Mini Cooper with the current ones!

Do you really think that the reason why oversized cars (SUV) are so popular due to the expanding waist size of the population ? I would say it's more to do with bragging about the size of your wallet.