According to recent studies, global life expectancy will grow by roughly five years by 2025. However, conditions such as high blood pressure and obesity will compel people to struggle with their bad health for longer periods.
The findings were released as part of the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2021. The study was published in the medical journal The Lancet on Thursday (May 16).
Liane Ong, lead research scientist at the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHMEE) and research head, stated that “future trends may be quite different than past trends because of factors such as climate change and increasing obesity and addiction.”
Life expectancy for men would rise from 71.1 to 76 years and for women from 76.2 to 80.5 years
The Global Burden of Diseases team estimated that life expectancy for men would rise from 71.1 to 76 years and for women from 76.2 to 80.5 years.
The biggest gains will be made by the countries that currently have lower life expectancies.
“This is an indicator that while health inequalities between the highest and lowest income regions will remain, the gaps are shrinking, with the biggest increases anticipated in sub-Saharan Africa,” stated IMHEE director Dr. Chris Murray.
Metabolic risk factors such as excessive blood sugar, high BMI, and high blood pressure have resulted in people losing over 49.4 percent of their life expectancy since 2000
According to the researchers, this trend is mostly driven by public health initiatives that have increased survival rates and reduced mortality from diseases such as COVID-19, heart disease, and a variety of infectious, maternal, neonatal, and nutritional ailments.
The researchers discovered that metabolic risk factors such as excessive blood sugar, high body mass index (BMI), and high blood pressure have resulted in people losing over 49.4 percent of their life expectancy since 2000.
Low birth weight, smoking, and air pollution were all major factors in the number of years lost due to poor health and premature death.
“There is immense opportunity ahead for us to influence the future of global health by getting ahead of these rising metabolic and dietary risk factors, particularly those related to behavioral and lifestyle factors like high blood sugar, high body mass index, and high blood pressure,” said Murray.