Since the 19th century, our life expectancy has continued to increase, in correlation with the evolution of our medical knowledge. However, for several decades, the curve has stagnated, or even tends to reverse. For what? The infections and diseases that killed the majority of our ancestors are very well treated today, so what are the new illnesses that are causing our downfall?
Until the baby boomers, humans generally saw their living conditions improve – with the exception of the two world wars, obviously – until the trend… was reversed. Generation
This “rebel” generation in fact participated in a widespread use of tobacco and junk food which has left its mark. Another factor explaining the stagnation of life expectancy, and not the most joyous: the increase in “died of despair», deaths by overdose, alcoholism or suicide.
A deadly environment
The study conducted by researcher Leah Abrams and relayed by Popular Mechanics explains that social behaviors had a huge impact on these deaths. Indeed, the culture of rebellion, set up as a model, has encouraged several generations to smoke cigarettes, cannabis and consume all kinds of harmful substances, laying the foundations for current cancers.
Our environment and our lifestyles are also to blame. When it comes to heart problems – even though medicine has greatly advanced in recent years – we are subjecting our bodies and minds to new sources of stress. Sedentary lifestyle, pollution, without forgetting our well-established vices like alcohol or now vaping: a toxic cocktail that slows down the body’s recovery capabilities.
The United States, where the study took place, is far from the best placed when it comes to longevity among developed countries. Poor healthcare structures, deepening social inequalities, the question of longevity and its stagnation is even more pressing across the Atlantic.
The great challenge of the 21st century will therefore not only be medical. Preventing diseases has become just as important as curing them, and for this, caring for the world in which we live is essential.
