By Alex Baran,
Project Weight Loss Staff Writer
October 02, 2009 The norm for our days babies may be 100. More than half of new babies born in industrialized nations can reach a three digit age, shows new study.
According to an article published in the medical journal The Lancet many Western nations will have people with an average of 100 years old, with half of the babies born in 2007. Germany was the case study and it seems that by 2050 its population will be smaller and older than now.
The report written by Kaare Christensen indicates that this situation will be typical in all rich nations. This leads us to the idea that there will be smaller workforce to sustain the economy in the coming years. Not exactly, as analysts suggest that in the future there will be the need to raise the medium retiring age up to past 70 years.
At the same time some question the accuracy of the prediction that most babies born today will live past 100. Why? Because although the life expectancy age for both men and women is raising continuously, there are some factors to question that those figures will keep the increase at the same pace as before. Main causes for the slowing of the increasing rate are the chronic diseases like diabetes and arthritis, some unhealthy eating habits, pollution and environmental problems and weight problems which in the last decade became the main cause of health problems. The old people might only become frail and disabled at a later stage, only postponing frail old age instead of extending it.
It appears that future will bring new major challenges as there will be higher number of old people and this will require a new thinking of the health-care plans, the retirement plans and so on.
"One commodity that may emerge is an increase in wisdom," said Dr. Stephen Helfand, a professor in the division of biology and medicine at Brown University. "It appears that wisdom, or an ability to compromise, does come with age," he said. "Having more people with experience not just technical, but also emotional and psychological experience should be beneficial. Time age usually improves decision-making."
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