Baby Boomers Dying Early?

[Big Orange]

Is it me or are the Babyboomers popping off earlier than their mostly extinct forebearers? People who were very young adults in the 70s and 80s are getting severely cut down in recent years comparatively prematurely by heart disease and cancer related illnessses. The latest example is minor South African actress and Jeffrey Archer mistress, Sally Farmiloe (given months to live), and what's telling is that her father died when he was 90 (while Sally is a mere 59). The late Iain Banks had a father who outlived him by many, many years as well.

Medium to long term consequences of the Babyboomers hitting the booze, drugs, and fags particular hard in their mispent youth?

[Bloo Loo]

People die at all ages...but only once.

[MrPin]

Fugg off! I'm not going yet!

[19 year mortgage 8itch]

Maybe they're left-handed.

[swissy_fit]

The industrialisation of food got going when the boomers were children, previous generation were brought up on fresher food I think, sometimes on a lot less food due to wartime and post-war rationing. So there might be something in what you suggest but it's not showing up in the figures yet AFAIK.

Edit : The bad news, of course, is that anything that is cutting down the boomers is likely to cut down subsequent generations even more.

[corevalue]

The increase in cancer rates has nothing at all to do with nuclear weapons testing, I suppose.

[Bora Horza]

Not sure about baby-boomers but I have noticed a big increase in ill-health among younger generations.

An example, an ex-girlfriend's father developed heart problems in his late 50s... my ex started to have heart problems in her late 30s.

Due to very poor diet and lack of exercise in my view.

I went round to visit my ex and her 12year-old daughter asked me to kick a ball around with her, I thought to myself omg I'm going to

embarrass myself because I'm unfit/old.

Less than 10 minutes of kicking the ball about was all she could manage before she practically collapsed. I was quite shocked to be honest.

Given her diet, weight and lack of exercise I wouldn't be surprised if she started to have heart problems in her late 20's.

People of my parents generation are living longer than their parents, but I very much doubt my generation and younger will be as a long-lived.

[Frank Hovis]

People of my parents generation are living longer than their parents, but I very much doubt my generation and younger will be as a long-lived.

Agree with this. IMO the boomers will be the longest lived generation because of their lack of obesity when young, structured lives, and early-ish retirement.

I have worked with several extremely fat (as in trouble walking normally, life-limiting weight) people in the last five years and they just weren't around in the 80s and 90s other than on TV shows about America. I am not about to dive into yet another diet thread but there is a rising number of people now who clearly won't live anywhere near as long as their parents.

[MrPin]

Maybe they're left-handed.

I am ! Watch out! I'll hit you with a guitar! Like El-Kabong

!

[Bora Horza]

When I was at school, about 1 person in a class of 30 was overweight. I occasionally pass my old school, I would say nearly all the children are overweight.

I think people's relationship with food/exercise that has changed.

I visited a friend and he offered to make dinner. He made two ham sandwiches, for dinner! I complained about this and he reply was that he was overweight

and couldn't eat a big dinner.

Two hours later, he's starving hungry so he gorges on a whole very large chocolate cake!

So many people lack common sense, is this something new or did I just overlook peoples lack of it when

I was younger?

[Errol]

People die at all ages...but only once.

You only live twice.

[MrPin]

When I was at school, about 1 person in a class of 30 was overweight. I occasionally pass my old school, I would say nearly all the children are overweight.

I think people's relationship with food/exercise that has changed.

I visited a friend and he offered to make dinner. He made two ham sandwiches, for dinner! I complained about this and he reply was that he was overweight

and couldn't eat a big dinner.

Two hours later, he's starving hungry so he gorges on a whole very large chocolate cake!

So many people lack common sense, is this something new or did I just overlook peoples lack of it when

I was younger?

Fat people have always been there! They were just richer then!

[happy_renting]

Thanks to better health knowledge, fall in tobacco use, improved sanitation, medical treatment , care, diagnostics, health and safety, road safety, improved car design, etc., life expectancy in the west still continues to rise - I believe by an incredible 18 months every decade.

It is not long ago that the monarch was able to send a personal telegram to anyone on their centenary; now there are tens of of thousands od people over 100.

That said, there may be certain demographics within the UK where life expectancy is falling.

[The Ayatollah Buggeri]

Thanks to better health knowledge, fall in tobacco use, improved sanitation, medical treatment , care, diagnostics, health and safety, road safety, improved car design, etc., life expectancy in the west still continues to rise - I believe by an incredible 18 months every decade.

I'd be interested to compare the number of road accident deaths per year now compared to a generation ago as a proportion of the population, and would be very surprised if road safety is a signfiicant factor in overall mortality rates.

However, I can well believe the former: in effect, we're leading unhealthier lives, but in parallel have worked out the medical science necessary to fix things as they break, with the latter more than offsetting the former.

I live next door to a city that is considered one of the world's five blue zones, where life expectancies are significantly above national and worldwide norms. The reason is usually cited as being that around half the population are adherents of a Christian denomination (as am I) that encourages regular exercise, a healthy diet and social cohesion within extended families: indeed, one of the reasons my wife and I ended up there is to be somewhere in which we're not constantly having to explain our slightly unusual (to most of the rest of the world) beliefs and behviours.

In relation to the OP's comment, one thing that strikes me on an anecdotal level is that levels of cancer here seem to be as high as anywhere else. Whereas heart disease, obesity, diabetes, sexually transmitted disease and virtually every other modern health problem that can be avoided by preventative behaviour are rare to the point of being almost unknown here (my wife is a doctor at a local hospital, where it's a standing joke that anyone admitted for any sort of cardiovascular treatment comes from at least 20 miles away), cancer remains a serious problem. At church every week we hear of people who have had a carefully balanced diet from birth, exercised regularly and generally looked after themselves scrupulously carefully, usually in their 50s or early 60s, having been given the final diagnosis and/or passed away. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if cancer accounted for almost all the deaths under 90 which take place in that town.

All of which says to me that genetic predisposition is by far in a way the single biggest risk factor, and if you're unlucky in that lottery, the healthy lifestyle isn't going to make much difference. It's still worth doing due to the difference in your quality of life while you are here. But - and here's the point - I'd be interested to know if cancer is killing a bigger proportion of the boomer generation than their predecessors. If not, then that supports my hunch about genetic predisposition. If yes, then this would suggest that human behaviour is to some extent responsible.

[19 year mortgage 8itch]

I am ! Watch out! I'll hit you with a guitar! Like El-Kabong

!

Sorry to trouble you MrPin but there's a widely held belief that lefties have lower life expectancy.

It could be wrong but its out there.

[MrPin]

life expectancies are significantly above national and worldwide norms. The reason is usually cited as being that around half the population are adherents of a Christian denomination (as am I) that encourages regular exercise, a healthy diet and social cohesion within extended families: indeed, one of the reasons my wife and I ended up there is to be somewhere in which we're not constantly having to explain our slightly unusual (to most of the rest of the world) beliefs and behviours.

Can I come to your Church and play really bad hymns in a "metal style"?

[Rave]

York - I thought possibly Quaker? But have settled upon Latter Day Saints.Quite a big Church on Acomb road?

Nah:

In fairness you probably would feel a bit self-conscious cruising around York like that!

In all seriousness I think TAB has recently emigrated to the US so the Latter Day Saints is a reasonable guess...

[The Ayatollah Buggeri]

In all seriousness I think TAB has recently emigrated to the US so the Latter Day Saints is a reasonable guess...

Seventh-day Adventist, actually. Probably the best-know SDA church in Britain is the one that happened to be next door to 25 Cromwell St. I went to a wedding there about a year before the Wests were caught: shortly after they were, various members of its congregation did the obligatory appearence in front of the cameras to say that they had no idea that anything was up, etc. etc., and the building regularly appeared in the background while the reporter was reciting the grisly details.

Don't worry - we're not like the Mormons, and, apart from emphasising the role of scripture in determining belief (in other words, that individual Christians should read The Bible and make judgments based on it themselves, rather than rely on a priest to do that for them, which is more the Catholic tradition), have very little in common with the Amish. One spouse is enough for us, and far from pretending that modern technology (and in particular medical technology) doesn't exist, we believe that God gave us the ability to develop and use it for a reason.

[MrPin]

Seventh-day Adventist, actually. Probably the best-know SDA church in Britain is the one that happened to be next door to 25 Cromwell St. I went to a wedding there about a year before the Wests were caught: shortly after they were, various members of its congregation did the obligatory appearence in front of the cameras to say that they had no idea that anything was up, etc. etc., and the building regularly appeared in the background while the reporter was reciting the grisly details.

Nice to know! I think is lovely you told us that! One of "mates" is Christian! don't really hate him BTW!! It;s just not the way of Pin!

[Guest eight]

we believe that God gave us the ability to develop and use it for a reason.

To ensure every military advantage possible, come "The Big One"?

[olliegog]

Sorry to trouble you MrPin but there's a widely held belief that lefties have lower life expectancy.

It could be wrong but its out there.

why ?

are they not the creative ones who are mostly employed in the computer industry - or at least they were back in the day

worried as another leftie here so maybe I should expect an early demise.

[MrPin]

why ?

are they not the creative ones who are mostly employed in the computer industry - or at least they were back in the day

worried as another leftie here so maybe I should expect an early demise.

Man! I just sit there at a desk!

[19 year mortgage 8itch]

why ?

are they not the creative ones who are mostly employed in the computer industry - or at least they were back in the day

worried as another leftie here so maybe I should expect an early demise.

Google it. Much seems to hang on a 1991 study which has sort of been debunked since but even so the myth is out there.

I wouldn't worry about a pension any more

[barrabus]

why ?

are they not the creative ones who are mostly employed in the computer industry - or at least they were back in the day

worried as another leftie here so maybe I should expect an early demise.

As another lefty you have me concerned,is it because we are supposed to be accident prone?

[Scunnered]

All of which says to me that genetic predisposition is by far in a way the single biggest risk factor, and if you're unlucky in that lottery, the healthy lifestyle isn't going to make much difference. It's still worth doing due to the difference in your quality of life while you are here. But - and here's the point - I'd be interested to know if cancer is killing a bigger proportion of the boomer generation than their predecessors. If not, then that supports my hunch about genetic predisposition. If yes, then this would suggest that human behaviour is to some extent responsible.

I'm sure that it is, if only because people are living longer because many of the things that previously killed people (infetcious diseases, poor sanitation, malnutrition) have largely been eliminated in placed like the UK and US. It's often said that cancer's a disease of old age, so the question's really about its effects on younger people.