Did You Know?
If you’re a 40-year-old who smokes 15 cigarettes per day then you will lose 8-10 years off your life.
Women have an in-built hormonal protection against heart disease up until the menopause. This is why the biggest killer of men is still heart attacks, although the biggest killer of women is cancer.
General life expectancy has gone up by three to four years over the last decade and things will get even better with continuing medical advances.
You have to be very grossly overweight for it to have a serious impact on your life expectancy. For instance, if you’re 5ft 8in then you have to be approaching 15-stone for this to happen. But your quality of life can be serious affected if you’re overweight.
If you stay within the GP-prescribed limits then alcohol won’t affect your life expectancy. There is some medical evidence to back up the claims that a drink of wine or whisky a day is good for your health.
Smokers who have given up still have an increased risk of death for 10-15 years afterwards. By 70 or 75 the damage may already be done but you will improve your quality of life and may extend it by giving up.
About 30 per cent of deaths from alcohol are caused by accidents such as getting run over crossing the road, as well as murder and suicide.
The liver actually regenerates its own cells to repair itself. This is fortunate for drinkers because if you give up drinking your liver may be able to recover. This process is very powerful up to the age of 18 and it then gradually slows down.
Cancer is caused by the random regeneration of cells. Because young peoples’ cells regenerate very quickly the spread of cancer is very fast. If you’re 70 and you get cancer then your cell replication is so slow that the cancer spreads very slowly.
It’s not just the amount of bodyfat you carry but the location on the body that makes it bad for you. If you’ve got a big stomach you have a greater risk of getting ill than if you have a big bum, for instance.
If you’re a 40-year-old regular cocaine abuser then you have the chances of dying of a 65-year-old.
It takes two deaths from heart disease before 60 in your immediate family for your chances of dying from this to be higher. But it only takes one family death from cancer for your life expectancy to be lowered.
If you’ve got have private health insurance then you can statistically expect to live longer. This may be because people who take out private healthcare policies actually use them and have an active interest in their health.
If you live near one of the specialist cancer or heart hospitals then you’re going to have a statistically better chance of survival than if you have these illnesses treated at a general hospital.
Skip Channel4 main Navigation
