Aging Internet Information Notes

Life expectancy is a statistical projection of the length of an individual’s life span based upon probabilities and assumptions of living conditions, medical discoveries and advances, natural disasters and other affecting factors. Morbidity statistics track presumed causes of death over time, producing trend data that can be factored into life expectancy tables. There are two basic life expectancy tables, one which projects average years of life remaining for an individual of a given age and the other the average number of years of life for all persons born in a given year. Insurance companies prefer the first type of table for the obvious reason that most policies are sold to adults. Individuals who have survived childhood are thus more likely to have an extended life span than the average member of their birth cohort. As can be viewed in the Internet sites below, U.S. Citizens are not the only population group living longer. Questions about how long the life span can be extended through the discoveries of biological research are now being debated. What we do know is that lifestyle choices can affect an individual’s life span, and that collectively, future population cohorts have the power to increase their own longevity.

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Center for Communication and Consumer Services
U.S. Administration on Aging
Tel. 202-619-0724
FAX 202-357-3523
Internet: http://www.aoa.gov
Email [aoainfo@aoa.gov]

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