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Does being rich or poor predetermine our lifespan?

3/6/2015

7 Comments

 
Picturewww.dailymail.co.uk
We all like to read about the results of an official analysis. Here's one about our life expectancy according to findings charted by the UK Office for National Statistics. Results from analysis if the rich and the poor shows baby girls from well-off districts can expect to enjoy good health for nearly 20 years longer than those in the poorest towns and suburbs.


The figures were calculated from the ONS Annual Population Survey which checks on the lives of 320,000 people living in undisclosed areas each year.

Here are the findings: A newborn girl in one of the top 10 per cent of wealthy areas can expect to live 71.3 years before her life is limited by chronic illness or disability. However, a girl born in one of the bottom 10 per cent of the most deprived areas can look forward to only 52.4 years of life in good health.

The difference means the well-off girl is likely to have a healthy life more than a third longer than that of a girl from a poor district. The figures for boys only differ slightly.

The ONS findings for the UK say that healthy life expectancy is at its worst in the very poorest areas of the country. A typical example comes from people without paid employment, who are benefit dependent, and consume too much alcohol, tobacco and drugs. In four out of five of the population, the health gap between the best off and the rest is much less marked. Source – Daily Mail.  

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My husband and I have both lived over 70 years although our younger life differed in circumstances. Both of us could be considered to come from poor circumstances.

Born in 1938, my husband lived in London during the war, when rations were sparse and, deprived of imports, householders grew much of their own food. Spoiled by his loving family, he never went short of what he needed to build a healthy body.

Whereas I, born in 1942, lived in Australia. Although money was scarce, my countrymen had plenty of food to choose from. Fruit and vegetables formed most of my diet. Back then, horses would come down the street, delivering ice for the ice-box, while others sold exciting trinkets. Up the street, the local bakery sold milk as well.

But we both had big dreams which inspired us to reach for the best we could achieve.

At around the age of 55, I discovered I'd been born with malformed hips. Without this condition, I'd be a healthy woman living a good life in retirement.

In the last six months since developing cancer, my husband has deteriorated from a fit man weighing about 13 stone to a shadow of his former self weighing just 9 stone. But, he's not ready to go yet. He keeps up his routine of shopping and cooking and just recently shifted all the things from the living room ready for painting, and then back again. He's my hero.

I think the dividing line between rich and poor is more pronounced without a desire to live a full life. Hopelessness must play a big part in the length of your life.

I'll bet you have a story to tell.


7 Comments
Alana link
3/5/2015 07:33:27 pm

I do have a story to tell, Francene. But so do you! Have you thought of writing a memoir? I love these glimpses into your life, and your husband's.

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Francene Stanley
3/5/2015 07:44:22 pm

I'm adding these memories as I write them with a memoir in mind. Who knows if I'll ever use them, but everybody has a story to tell and we shouldn't let the lives of ordinary people be lost.

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Scott link
3/5/2015 10:00:43 pm

I hope that determination is a key. I have no desire to leave this Earth early!

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Michelle Liew link
3/5/2015 10:10:39 pm

I agree. Rich or poor, the desire to live a full life makes all the difference.

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Rose Ketring link
3/5/2015 10:47:36 pm

Thank you for sharing your story with all of us. I agree with you--it's impossible to thrive if you are struggling to just survive. I grew up in a very poor family that relied on food stamps and the kindness of our neighbors just to cover the basic necessities.

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Elisabeth link
3/6/2015 12:37:09 am

I think you hit on it when you said, "Hopelessness". We all know people who grew up in abject poverty and somehow still managed to be healthy and strong with a great outlook. My dad grew up in one of the poorest of poor families in the ghettoes of Detroit back in 1934. If anyone should have had a short, unhealthy lifespan, it was him. And his older siblings did just that. But my dad had a vvision and a goal... and now at 82, he is stronger and more physically active than men half his age!

Lots to think about here. Thank you for sharing!

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Tandy Elisala link
3/6/2015 11:05:10 am

Francine, great article. I think that the biggest factor in life span has to do with two things: 1. How we treat our bodies (food and exercise and overall health) and 2. Our mindset. As you mentioned, sometimes people that grew up 'poor' have a determined mindset to succeed and provide their family the things they didn't have. We have the power to be, do and have anything we want. We just need to remember and recognize this.

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    Francene Stanley
    From England, I use news items in my novels which you can see below, all linked to an Amazon near you.

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