A report by an Office for National Statistics has found that life expectancies for children born in 2019 are several years less than previously considered, a hitch in the recent trend of life expectancy increases over the last few years.
It is now thought that a baby girl in 2019, for example, will celebrate three fewer birthdays than previously thought, with data now showing their life expectancy to be 90.4 years, a 3.2-year drop from data published in 2014 which suggested the expectancy to be 93.6 years. Boys life expectancies have been similarly hit, with data now suggesting they will live a total of 87.8 years, a 3.3-year reduction from 2014’s prediction of 91.1 years.
The reason for such a drastic change in life expectancies has been narrowed down to the fact that the estimates made previously were too high. Factors for this conclusion included that in 2018, life expectancy stalled for the first time in over 30 years, which was the pinnacle of an acknowledged slowdown in life expectancy since 2011. The slowdown in life expectancy could be seen to have come as a result of the lack of major moments in medicine, since previously, in the 20th century, factors such as the creation of the NHS, reductions in smoking, and childhood immunisation resulted in drastic increases in life expectancy, not to mention the advances in tackling major medical issues such as heart disease, strokes, and cancer. This, in comparison to modern advancements, is huge, since currently the leading cause of death is listed as being dementia, which currently is incurable.
The recent statistics have also put a worrying statistic on future children, with it now being thought that for children born in 2043, only 20.8% of boys will reach 100, and only 26.1% of girls, whereas predictions two years ago had suggested 34.1% of boys would reach the milestone and 40.2% of girls, showing a drastic change for future generations.