Do we really live longer than our ancestors?
I&#x27;ve always been frustrated by these figures because life expectancy has gone up due to reducing infant mortality. It doesn&#x27;t mean our lifestyle has made humans live longer.<p>It would appear that a more useful metric is number of centenarians per million. On the 1.1.1960, England &amp; Wales had 11.6 centenarians per million. On the 1.1.1990 this increased to 76.3 centenarians per million.[1]<p>Another way to look at it is the risk of death for a given age tracked over time.[2] If you were 60 years old in 1900, would you have a higher risk of death compared to 2000?<p>[1] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.demogr.mpg.de&#x2F;Papers&#x2F;Books&#x2F;Monograph2&#x2F;search.htm" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.demogr.mpg.de&#x2F;Papers&#x2F;Books&#x2F;Monograph2&#x2F;search.htm</a>
[2] <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.bandolier.org.uk&#x2F;booth&#x2F;Risk&#x2F;dyingage.html" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.bandolier.org.uk&#x2F;booth&#x2F;Risk&#x2F;dyingage.html</a>