Thursday, August 28, 2008
Ballymoney on top of the world
Great to see that Ballymoney is right up there almost with Japan in the world tables of life expectancy. It’s not a comparison we’re used to, but we can make the link if we compare World Health Organisation figures out today with Irish Public Health institute results last week.
Their quality of life is so high in the north Antrim Shangri-la that men can expect to reach an average age of 78.1 years; while women live, on average, to the grand old age of 82.4.
The average life expectancy for the whole of Northern Ireland, stands at 75.9 years for men, and 80.6 years for women.
The all-Ireland life expectancy is 75.6 years for males and 80.6 years for females. “
So it would seem the Celtic Tiger’s slightly greater prosperity doesn’t give them the edge on how long they live.
The World Health Organisation study tells a story that won’t surprise us. Social injustice kills and is widening on a grand scale although it’s conceded that in rich countries the bottom rung has been raised.
“In every society there is a substantial gap between the life expectancy of the children of the most affluent and privileged, and those who are born into deprivation. But some countries are better than others at closing the gap.”
The salutary point is that if two people live only a mile or two apart, one in the inner city, the other in the leafy suburbs, life can be much longer in the leafy suburbs. So in Britain: “A boy in the suburb of Calton, Glasgow, can expect to live 28 years less than one raised in Lenzie, a few miles away. One born in Hampstead, London, will live around 11 years longer than a boy from St Pancras, five stops away on the Northern line of the underground.” So life expectancy in Lenzie is much higher than the average, at 82 for men. Healthy suburbanites everywhere can I presume, look forward to a similar result.
I wonder how wide the gap is between say Ardoyne in north Belfast and Ballyclare?
Brian Walker @ 10:13 AM
A man may survive to a greater age in the suburbs but would we call it life?
Posted by on Aug 28, 2008 @ 10:40 AMQuality of life is the secret. My grandmother lived happily to 92, my mother suffered for the last 8 to 84. If I start ailing, it’s back to socialist Assachusetts, that’ll end it quickly.
Feel free to start a pool…
Posted by on Aug 28, 2008 @ 11:13 AMAh, too much of the high living may be a factor regarding the south. All that rich food and drink is so bad for the cholestral and blood pressure!
Stay off the smokes if one wants to live a long life!
Posted by on Aug 28, 2008 @ 11:22 AMIt’s the cow dung in the air that does it, hi.
Posted by on Aug 28, 2008 @ 11:43 AMA lot of people in poorer areas contribute to their own state of bad health. for example I know of one person a friend from child hood who gambles and drinks away all their money with a result that they has no money left for a proper diet or electricity to heat their home. No electricity or heat all year round including our horrible winters, no proper meals - save the odd meal bought at the local hospital cafeteria.
Yet my friend receives a lot of money in state benefits, more than I do by working. Poverty is indeed relative, and while I’m not saying that this is the case for everybody it is the case for a certain amount of people.
Add that together with the food stocked in stores in some of our inner cities and it will contribute to an unhealthy life. Proper food will be found in better areas where stores are stocked with fresh food, rather than the food deserts of our inner cities. Try going to Dunnes at the Park centre when you next visit the RVH and see what they stock, then go to M&S;and see what I mean. It’s a useful social experiement for any shopper..
Posted by on Aug 28, 2008 @ 11:46 AMNice to see my native city still setting the pace on ill-health & social exclusion......
Calton being the original irish ghetto in Glasgow (complete coincidence that of course)
Posted by on Aug 28, 2008 @ 12:05 PMInteresting that of the countries with the longest life expectancies the top seven are all countries with what the Americans call ‘socialised medecine ‘ i.e the Health care system is either controlled by the State or is largely regulated by the State with health care access to all regardless of income or previous conditions .
Averages are of course just that . I’m sure that if one breaks down the average by social class, and income in all the countries mentioned that you would see disparities because of life styles , ethnicity , race ,education , stress factors , levels of obesity , etc.
I believe ‘genetics ‘ has to be a major factor in how long somebody lives . How somebody chooses to live and where may determine for how much and how long the ‘genetics’ will be allowed to
maximise their potential Imo .Whether life is worth living of course depends very much on the liver :) .
Imagine the life of a lichen - clinging to a rock for a century or more ? Why would a lichen want to live and yet they do . Life is tenacious and we all want to live - lichen or lounge lizard- louse or louser - unionist or nationalist .
Life is not a dress rehearsal so enjoy it while you can and help your fellow humans do the same.
Posted by on Aug 28, 2008 @ 12:12 PMWhy would anyone choose to shop at “M&S;near the RVH” when Fortnum & Mason is but a short plane hop away?
Posted by on Aug 28, 2008 @ 12:22 PMRory, since you can’t read I hereby recommend an orgasmic diet which would help improve your eyesight:-)
Posted by on Aug 28, 2008 @ 12:28 PMMaybe longevity in B’money has something to do with its Bible belt location (no smoking or drinking) but they’re just as likely to be obese, perhaps more so. Gluttony is not a sin apparently.
Posted by on Aug 28, 2008 @ 12:31 PMIsn’t the famed “Ulster fry” part of the diet in Ballymoney? Two eggs, rashers, sausages, wheaten bread and a soda farl on the side. How are they managing to escape the vein ravaging effects? Maybe there’s something in the water ... or it might be the cow dung right enough ... hard to say really.
Posted by on Aug 28, 2008 @ 12:37 PMTry going to Dunnes at the Park centre when you next visit the RVH and see what they stock, then go to M&S;and see what I mean
Middle-class tosh - there’s plenty of fresh fruit and veg in Dunne’s. There’s even plenty in ALDI, as I’m fortunate enough to live near ALDI’s fine Shore Road emporium and benefit from their fine fresh veg selection.
As for why the people of the Falls shop at Dunne’s rather than M&S;, have you ever looked at the price difference?
Posted by on Aug 28, 2008 @ 12:37 PMSo wealthy people live longer than poor people; who thought we’d all live to see such pronouncements in our time?
Posted by on Aug 28, 2008 @ 01:04 PMOf course Ann makes a valid point for which the Tories got lambasted when they made it. Poverty and ill health are inextricably linked but often - often, not always, often - are the self inflicted results of some spectacularly wrong headed and downright stupid lifestyle choices. Until we have the courage to address this issue honestly no amount of taxpayers billions thrown at the problem will alleviate the problem one iota.
Posted by on Aug 28, 2008 @ 01:05 PMIf you are interested in finding out male and female life expectancy figures by Local Government District in Northern Ireland or by county in the Republic of Ireland, log onto http://www.inispho.org/aihsc. These are the data that were produced by the Institute of Public Health in Ireland. You can also download the report at http://www.publichealth.ie/publications/allirelandhealthandsocialcareindicatorset.
The report finds that Belfast has the lowest male life expectancy of 73.5 years and Ballymoney has the highest male life expectancy of 78.1 years. Derry has the lowest female life expectancy of 79.3 years and Ballymoney also has the highest female life expectancy of 82.4 years. In the Republic of Ireland Roscommon has the highest male and female life expectancy of 76.9 and 82.2 years respectively. Limerick has the lowest male life expectancy of 72.8 years.Posted by on Aug 28, 2008 @ 02:34 PMWealthy people do live longer - less stress. Unless you live in Brazil of course, where your son and heir is liable to kidnapped for extortion purposes.
In the US the death rate for the urban poor is higher than for the well heeled. Many lack the funds for decent health care, but it goes beyond that to basic nutritional deficits due to lack of information and lack of coin. The daily fast-food take-out and soda is a staple for many. The end result of such a diet is weight gain and in some cases obesity ... not exactly a life extender.
Posted by on Aug 28, 2008 @ 02:50 PMActually Sammy I visited Dunnes only a few days ago when coming from the rvh and I can tell you quite honestly that the bulk of their fare was stoge, crisps and what I’d call stocking fillers. Very little fresh fruit and veg - whole sections of display refrigeration was taken up with small bottles of high sugar lemonade. At first I thought it was going out of business it was so badly stocked, but one of the taxi men informed me it had been like that for a while now.
However the point I was making was indeed about life style choices, there are an awful lot of people out there making an awful lot of bad choices and then crying woe is me over the consequences.
Posted by on Aug 28, 2008 @ 03:38 PMI had a very good friend who worked for Dunnes in the 1990’s and she told me that their best sellers were frozen chips and Coca Cola.
Now if their customers were clamouring for wholemeal bread, brown rice and tofu I’m fairly certain Margaret Heffernan would have been delighted to sell it to them at very competitive prices.
It’s time to start treating people like adults and if they make shite life choices well is it the responsibility of the rest of us to subsidise the consequences?
Posted by on Aug 28, 2008 @ 03:48 PMWell here is one poor man with a short life expectancy who is quite willing to admit that it is all down to my poor life-style choices. As a younger eligible male I absolutely refused to attend at hunt balls and so deprived myself of the choice of meeting and marrying a well-heeled heiress.
Posted by on Aug 28, 2008 @ 03:48 PMHarry’s right, it’s supply and demand. However leftists governments adopted the phrase food desert suggesting it’s either access or cost is the problem for the poor choices made by people, but in reality stores are only supplying what their customers want. Until that changes, theres not much point in throwing more money at the problem.
People must make choices what to spend their money on, if its smoking drinking drugs or stoge then their health will suffer. It’s time to grow up.
Posted by on Aug 28, 2008 @ 04:09 PMHarry
Seriously. Think about it. ‘Choices!’ Who in the name of god would actually ‘choose’ to have a crap sick life and die 10 years before everyone else! So what are you saying - all those people living in Sweden/Norway etc - deserve to live longer because they’re better people? Here’s a suggestion - if it is about ‘choice’ WHY do people here choose to kill themselves off early? Natural selection maybe?
Here’s a thought - maybe there is another reason? Or a number of reasons? And i bet if you can be bothered to look into it at all you’ll find money, education etc all to be at the bottom of it - or rather lack of
Posted by on Aug 28, 2008 @ 05:13 PMPS - only people with money get the luxury of real choices - to even consider the possibility of going to university etc. Did anyone actually bother to read that WHO report before spouting off? Or did they ‘choose’ not to!?
Posted by on Aug 28, 2008 @ 05:17 PMRK
If you take responsibility for yourself, eating well, not over-anything-ing, you’ll do OK. Not expensive. Money/education has little to do with it. Nanny stater socialist bang the class warfare drum for their own ends...you don’t have to dance to that beat.
Posted by on Aug 28, 2008 @ 05:43 PMStill missing my point here, BfB - so why are more people in Norway/Sweden/Japan etc living longer or as you call it taking responsibility for themselves? take out the whole nanny stater socialist idea - is it fair and are you saying its simply something those who aren’t in this position should sit back and leave the rest to their own ends? The fact that the arguments from those writing this report include the fact that as a nation the UK would have been top of the life expectancy list - but because of a big gap are well down. Suggest you read a bit more: http://news.google.co.uk/nwshp?hl=en&tab=wn&q=inequality
And while you are doing it, remember that illiteracy rates in areas of NI and the UK are as high as 25% - North Belfast being particularly bad. Do you really think you’d be that bothered about ‘healthy choices’ if you couldn’t even read or were still ringing the council about that rising damp, before trying to get to the shop for the tea, school to pick up the kids and don’t even talk about trying to pay for the oil. And don’t forget, you can bearly if at all, understand what the letter from the council says.
Posted by on Aug 28, 2008 @ 05:53 PM“Wealthy people do live longer - less stress. Unless you live in Brazil of course, where your son and heir is liable to kidnapped for extortion purposes.”
Mac’s above assertion set me to thinking (I know, I know - I’ve already been advised how injurious to one’s health that can be).
When a rich man’s child is taken hostage their life may become forfeit unless the father can afford the ransom demanded. Might not ever occur to these wealthy men the cruel irony that their refusal to pay just taxes on their income (usually investment, i.e. unearned, income) that might ensure decent social health provision is precisely what delivers the children of the poor taken hostage by life-threatening disease into the hands of death when their fathers cannot afford private health care?
But then I doubt that the rich indulge in such soul-searching as might threaten their comfort zones.
Posted by on Aug 28, 2008 @ 06:03 PM
