In the United States, life expectancy was about 48 years for women and 46 years for men born in 1900. Just 50 years later, it climbed to 71 for women and 66 for men. And recent numbers put life expectancy at roughly 80 for women and 75 for men.
There’s still considerable debate about the achievable upper limit of human lifespan, but France’s Jeanne Calment lived to be 122. American Gertrude Baines, believed to be the world’s oldest living person, is 114.
Most experts agree that increases in lifespan are due to better nutrition, health care, and disease prevention and treatment. But research is also identifying various traits and habits that aid healthy aging.
-- Parade 3/15/09
No comments:
Post a Comment