The improvement in life expectancy is partly due to a decline in deaths from 2 of the nation's leading killers; heart disease, and stroke. Changes in behavior also seem to be playing a significant role in increasing life expectancies; a reduction in smoking has seen a prominent decrease in heart disease, and cancer. Heart attacks, and cancer, account for more than half of all deaths in the U.S. each year!

Worldwide life expectancy for women has always predominantly been higher than men; in fact, a National Center for Health Statistics Report states that women outlive men by at least 5 years! The reasons for this difference are not fully understood, though it is argued that women are biologically superior to men, thus living longer; men are more often murdered; women are less likely to be employed in more hazardous occupations (e.g. military), and, men generally drive, drink and smoke more than women.

The approximate life expectancy during the Roman Empire was 25 years; 1900, world life expectancy jumped to 30 years, and by 1985, 62 years was achievable!

Life expectancy changes as one ages. If a person survives to late adulthood, the chances of reaching a ripe old age are quite good. Those who manage to reach 65 years will have a bonus of an additional 18 years, making their life expectancy almost 83 years!

Despite the increased life expectancy in the U.S., compared to the life span achievable in more than 36 countries, 78-83 years still falls short. It is claimed that Japan holds the world's longest life expectancy rate, for both sexes; 30,000 people over the age of 100, and still going strong!

It's thought that the higher the life expectancy, the better shape a country is in, that may be so, but whether we live to be 78 or 116, every day is a gift from God; make them count!

?Your? Money Matters by Carl Hampton

From the Author of ?From Credit Despair To Credit Millionaire?