There are many reasons to take with an unhealthy pinch of salt the warning from Yvette Cooper, the minister for public health, that the life expectancy of today’s children will be years lower than that of their parents.
With a few exceptions – sub-Saharan Africa as a result of the Aids epidemic, and Russia which has its own reasons – there has not been a significant decline in life expectancy anywhere. Rather, the great majority of countries have seen a continuous increase in the lifespans of their populations for several decades.
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