| Hi Friend,
Are we living longer or simply taking longer to die? You must agree, it’s a chilling proposition. Yet if recent health research is anything to go by, millions of UK citizens can expect to see their future lives crippled by back pain, migraines and hearing loss, along with the very real risk of rising obesity.
Studies show on average how men born today can expect to live to 79 while women will reach 83. But what these numbers fail to show is how both sexes will typically spend their final ten years battling illness and injury.
The top culprits? Back pain, migraines and hearing loss according to the Annual Global Burden of Disease — the world’s largest scientific collaboration on population health. Meanwhile, the main causes of premature death here in the UK include heart disease, lung cancer, stroke and dementia.
So is there some truth to the argument that men and women aren't living longer but simply taking longer to die?
Professor John Newton believes so.
John Newton is the director of health improvement at Public Health England and here is what he says: “This is yet another reminder that while we’re living longer, much of that extra time is spent in ill-health.”
So who is to blame and what can we do about it?
Well, it appears increasingly sedentary lifestyles, lack of exercise and unhealthy diets are the black-hatted villains here; and nowhere are the side-effects more apparent than in people’s ever-expanding waistlines.
The numbers show:
Up to four times as many young women and men now have excessive girth when compared to measurements taken in the early 1990s.
This research published in annual Health Survey for England exposed the terrifying obesity time bomb facing people — and the danger shows no signs of abating.
NHS figures published earlier this year revealed 39% of 16 to 24-year-olds are either overweight or obese in contrast to 27% in 1993. Do the math and that represents a jaw dropping jump in just over two decades.
But here’s the thing… this frightening future isn’t carved in stone. In fact, a simple, three-pronged approach is all you need to help you live a long and healthy life. They are:
1. Walk Every Day.
Just 10 minutes walking a day can help you tackle diabetes, heart disease and dementia. Studies show an intense daily stroll can lower the risk of developing these killer diseases by up to 40%.
2. Eat Like an Adult.
Dan John argues this point in his book ‘Mass Made Simple’ and the strongman is spot on. His advice: “Honestly, seriously, you don’t know what to do about food? Here is an idea: eat like an adult… Stop with the excuses and stop eating like a television commercial.”
3. Stay Strong.
Staying strong into adulthood means you boost all of the important health parameters that impact your wellbeing. Too busy to train? That’s okay because you don't need tons of time to transform your body. In fact, research shows you can build the body you want in 15 minutes or less. According to a study published in the "European Journal of Applied Physiology", just 15 minutes of resistance training was judged to be as effective as 35 minutes in elevating resting energy expenditure for up to 72 hours after exercise.
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