Japan Tops in Healthy Life Expectancy
A recent report compiled by Washington University and published in the British medical journal "LANCET" August 27, shows Japan tops the world's 188 countries in healthy life expectancy as of year 2013.
Healthy life expectancy or also termed Healthy Life Years (HLY) is the number of remaining years a person of a certain age is expected to live without disability. In short, it is a disability-free life expectancy.
The report shows Japan's Healthy Life expectancy is 71.11 years for male and 75.56 years for female, both the longest in the world.
The average life expectancy of Japanese male that year surpassed 80 years for the first time; female way up in the 86's.
Singapore's healthy life expectancy in 2013 was 72.1 years in average for male and female, followed by Andorra , Iceland and Cyprus.
The WU team also computed data for 1990. The world experienced a growth in average life expectancy in years 1990-2013 from 65's to mid 71's and healthy life expectancy from 56 years to 62's owing, probably, to an advance in the prevention of infection diseases such as HIV and malaria.
The concept of healthy life expectancy was first proposed by the World Health Organization in 2000 based on the notion of not merely extending life expectancy but of stressing on the importance of leading disability-free life.
Japan lives up to its prestige as the land of long life as the current Guiness-recognized oldest living man in the world is a Japanese male, Mr. Yasutaro Koide of age 112 and the late Shino Mori was the oldest active female announcer at age 111.
That said, one is tempted to ask just what makes you live longer in Japan? Nature for one; food for another. As so well said by Mr. Koide: "Don't overdo things, leave it all to nature and eat what's offered".
