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Life expectancy rise in rich countries slows down: took 30 years to prove

(www.nature.com)
135 points andsoitis | 1 comments | 15 Oct 24 13:39 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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lovethevoid ◴[15 Oct 24 14:36 UTC] No.41849070[source]▶
> The decline in the United States is driven by increasing numbers of deaths because of conditions such as diabetes and heart disease in people aged roughly 40 to 60.

People are asking if we should be surprised by the headline but are missing this. As suggested in the article by the researchers, there is something dragging down the average since the 2010s. Not even hitting the general expectation of ~75 years. We don’t have solid answers yet, only theories.

So yes, generally while going up against the process of aging is going to create barriers (eg can we get to 130 years old), we are also failing to raise the baseline which is the bigger issue that people might not grasp when it comes to “life expectancy rates”.

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hn_throwaway_99 ◴[15 Oct 24 14:40 UTC] No.41849103[source]▶
> We don’t have solid answers yet, only theories.

The exact quote you gave had a pretty solid answer, certainly not just "theories".

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daveguy ◴[15 Oct 24 15:10 UTC] No.41849449[source]▶
I think the distinction there is between immediate cause and root cause. Heart disease and diabetes (or complications thereof) is the immediate cause of death, but what is causing an increase in those diseases is theory at this point.
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orionsbelt ◴[15 Oct 24 15:14 UTC] No.41849488[source]▶
Is it not clearly obesity? Why everyone is obese is perhaps unclear (although portion sizes, ultra processed foods, screen time and sedentary lives, etc, all seem to likely play a clear role), but I’d be surprised if the level of obesity that exists didn’t cause more heart disease and diabetes.
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lovethevoid ◴[15 Oct 24 15:36 UTC] No.41849678{4}[source]▶
Kind of. The tricky thing here is that most people have a rigid view of "obesity" in their minds as it's easier to shift blame to, but the only thing research has shown is that abnormal BMI leads to increased cardiovascular issues. Which includes slightly overweight people.
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1. derektank ◴[15 Oct 24 20:33 UTC] No.41852804{5}[source]▶
Higher levels of body fat (which is almost always the cause of a high BMI unless you are an active athlete) is pretty directly tied to inflammation and pre-diabetic insulin resistance. This subsequently results in the liver producing more triglycerides and lipoproteins that clog the circulatory system and the inflammation itself promotes hypertension. All of this together results in more heart attacks and strokes. There's a pretty clear mechanistic link between obesity and cardiovascular disease.

That doesn't mean obese people are "to blame" for any medical complications they might suffer from obesity. It also doesn't mean that obesity is a death sentence; people's bodies function differently and we've all heard stories of pack a day smokers that lived into their 90s. But there is absolutely a connection between the two.