Women in France could be living to 88.6 years by 2030
Study says men in France could live to 81.7 – and governments warned to rethink policies to support older population
Life expectancy for women in France is increasing and those born in 2030 will likely live to the age of 88.6 years – with men living to 81.7.
Authors of the study by Imperial College London with the World Health Organisation say that governments must start to ensure that “policies to support the growing older population are in place”.
The study, published in The Lancet, says human life expectancy could soon exceed 90 years for the first time – going against accepted wisdom from the past 100 years that life expectancy could never exceed 90 years.
It showed that all nations in the study, both developed and developing countries, could see increased life expectancy with South Koreans seeing the longest lives. A girl born there in 2030 could expect to live to 90.8 years and a boy to 84.1.
In Europe, French women and Swiss men will have the highest life expectancies with Swiss men living to nearly 84 years.
The research also showed that a 65-year-old UK man in 2030 could expect to live 20.9 years longer, while a 65-year-old woman could have an extra 22.7 years.
In France, a woman who is 65 in 2030 could expect to live an extra 26.1 years.
Professor Colin Mathers, co-author from the World Health Organisation explained: “The increase in average life expectancy in high income countries is due to the over-65s living longer than ever before. In middle-income countries, the number of premature deaths – i.e. people dying in their forties and fifties, will also decline by 2030.”
Prof Ezzati said the gap in life expectancy between women and men was also closing. He said: "Men traditionally had unhealthier lifestyles, and so shorter life expectancies. They smoked and drank more, and had more road traffic accidents and homicides. However as lifestyles become more similar between men and women, so does their longevity."
He told Le Monde: “Countries often have strengths and weaknesses in health terms. In France there is less obesity, road deaths have fallen, binge drinking is less common than elsewhere and your health service is open to eveyrone. However, the French policies against tobacco are not strong, unlike the Australians.
“Americans are bad nearly everywhere: obesity, healthcare access, violent death, environmental policies…”
