longevity

Life expectancy has always been a discussed topic. Whether it is or not people’s decision how long they live is one of the most important debates nowadays. There are many factors that can affect someone’s longevity, some of them are choices people make like smoking, drinking or keeping a healthy diet, but some other aspects like socio-economic situation and genetic background may not be anyone’s election. Eventhough this circumstances might affect the longevity of a certain person, this essay will argue that lifestyle choices are in fact the most relevant factor when it comes to life expectancy.

Lifestyle choices like smoking and drinking, affect strongly a person’s longevity. Eventhough not every smoking or drinking case ends in death, this lifestyle choices can lead to serious health issues that can reduce the life expectancy of an individual. A study held by L. Wilhelmsen and other scientists, shows that there are many factors that can affect someone’s longevity, and they conclude that non-smokers have a higher possibility of surviving. This is because smoking causes injuries in the immune, circulatory and respiratory systems and this further leads to diseases like cancer and osteoporosis. But smoking is not the only threat to someone’s health, drinking alcoholic beverages is extremely harmful, both mentally and physically, and can result with mortal consequences. According to Patrick M. Krueger, suicides, accidents, cancers and other diseases are the main causes of death in heavy drinkers. Drinking and smoking affect directly someone’s life expectancy due to its health and mental consequences.

In contrast, some socio-economic circumstances clearly impact on someone’s longevity and lifestyle choices. Government interventions like the minimum wage, affect directly somebody’s socio-economic situation, and economic instability can influence someone’s lifestyle choices and longevity. For example, if the minimum wage decreases, and so does the price of fast