DEMOGRAPHY-REASONS FOR INCREASE LIFE EXPECTANCY

Question 1

Why has improved nutrition led an increase in life expectancy?

Answer 1

• Been a shift in people’s behaviour in terms od diet and nutrition.People have greater awareness of key food groups and of the needs for a balanced diet
• Number of private and publicly owned programmes which have strived to get people to develop a healthier diet eg-slimming world
• Change in significance of diet and nutrition in education, schools providing nutritious food during the school day
• Cambridge uni in 2018 led to a recommendation that supermarkets should not have unhealthy snacks at the checkout to reduce customers impulse to buy them
• link between healthy diet and immunity making people more likely to fight of illnesses leading to them living longer

Question 2

Evaluation of improved nutrition

Answer 2

-Evidence that nutrition isn’t improving

Question 3

Why has medical improvements increased life expectancy ?

Answer 3

Biological theorists claim that medical sciences advancing over time is the main reason

• Vaccination programmes have led to herd immunity against diseases such as measles->prevalence of illness is low
• Treatment for health problems has improved eg antibiotics, cancer therapies and surgeries improving.
• Effective treatments means people can survive illnesses which would of killed them in the past leading to longer life
• Diagnosis and screening of illnesses is better, services like scans, blood tests etc lead to higher detection of illnesses
• Better diagnosis means better treatment.Leading to improved survival rates and longer lives overall

Question 4

Evaluation of medical improvements

Answer 4

-Medical improvements might not have been main factor, could of been due to social factors eg-improved hygiene

Question 5

Why has public health measures increased life expectancy

Answer 5

MCKEOWN:
-number of health conditions like TB were already seeing a reduction in both infection and death dates long before TB vaccination was introduced
-Therefore public health measures were changing before which has had a significant impact
Public health measures: non medical interventions and adjustments to peoples lives, enforced through governmental policies
EG- slum clearance programme:poor quality housing was pulled down and rebuilt with properties which were better insulated->reduced illness
-Population is more knowledgeable of importance of hand washing and basic hygiene to reduce spread of infectious diseases
-100% of properties in the uk have access to clean drinking water

Question 6

Evaluation of public health measures

Answer 6

-public health measures alone are not enough to minimise spread of diseases

Question 7

Why has better lifestyles and fewer bad habits increased life expectancy

Answer 7

• peoples behaviours are changing in a way which makes them less likely to face negative health issues in adulthood
• More people today possess things such as gym memberships or engage in regular exercise->government have raised awareness of how crucial it is for health and wellbeing
• bad habits which negatively impact upon health are declining, huge decline in smokers with only 14% of adults purporting to smoke
• Other bad habits are on the decline eg- alcohol consumption rates are much higher amongst those who are over 65 than in other age bracket indicating a shift in attitude in younger groups

Question 8

Evaluation of better lifestyles and fewer bad habits

Answer 8

-other things have emerged which make our lifestyles worse