What is the secret behind it? Factors Contributing to Long Life Expectancy. It can be illustrated by comparison with the US. These strongly indicate good quality healthcare and positive social conditions in Hong Kong. First, cohort effect across generations is a possible explanation. Life expectancy has often been mis understood as a projected indicator of how long on average people in a specific population may live.
But, in fact, life expectancy is calculated using current age-specific mortality rates of the particular year of interest. In other words, it is a cross-sectional indicator of the current health situation of the population. Because mortality rates increase with age, the estimation of life expectancy is heavily affected by the mortality rates among the older people in the population in the current year of interest—especially in populations in which infant mortality rates are low.
In Hong Kong, the majority of the older people were migrants from mainland China who likely survived war, famine, and hardships and migrated to Hong Kong during the post-WWII and Civil War period in the s and s. Thus, they might tend to be healthy and resilient.
On the contrary, the cohorts born after the s represent people born into a relatively developed environment of Hong Kong as compared with that of China, and the subsequent generations were increasingly born to a more developed environment. One possible implication is that the subsequent generations may not be as resilient as their migrant predecessors.
However, this speculation of a cohort effect is not supported by the latest adult mortality rates the probability that a year-old will die by age 60 among the three jurisdictions [5]. In other words, Hong Kong adults below age 60 are also generally healthy, and there is probably no strong cohort effect that will upset the life expectancy of these future older generations.
Second, studies have shown clearly that health inequality exists in Hong Kong, in terms of health outcomes, health behavior, and health care services [6]. Thus, racial disparities are not as prevalent as in the United States. Even if race is out of the picture, health inequality still persists. In fact, much of the health inequality in Hong Kong can be explained by socioeconomic position SEP , in which income poverty, deprivation defined as a state of observable and demonstrable disadvantage relative to the local community or the wider society or nation to which an individual, family, or group belongs [10], and low SEP are found to be linked to poorer health [6,7].
Another study also found that lower neighborhood-level SEP predicted higher age-standardized mortality rates over the past few decades [8]. Furthermore, even within the same race, migrant status local born versus non-local born Chinese can also make a difference, and there is a considerable level of intersectionality of being non-local born with low SEP.
Many non-local born Chinese are women who migrated to Hong Kong usually to reunite with their male counterpart, who also tend to have low SEP [9]. There are also other disadvantaged and marginalized groups that may face health inequity—including but not limited to ethnic minority, foreign domestic workers usually from the Philippines and Indonesia , people with long-term serious illness, and others—that warrant further investigation.
When filling your plate with fruits and vegetables, choose from a full color palette. For even more health benefits, aim for nine servings a day. To get there, choose vegetable soups and vegetable or fruit salads.
Sprinkle fruit on breakfast cereal, and select it for snacks or as a sweet end note after meals. Choose fats wisely Whenever possible, use monounsaturated and polyunsaturated oils. Avoid trans fats entirely. Limit saturated fats to less than seven per cent of daily calories and total fat to 20 per cent to 30 per cent of daily calories. If you have documented coronary artery disease, consume roughly one gram a day of EPA or DHA from oily fish and supplements if your doctor advises this.
Choose carbohydrates wisely Choose whole-grain foods over those made with refined grains, such as white bread. Look beyond popular choices like whole oats and brown rice to lesser-known whole grains like barley, bulgur, kasha, and quinoa. Limit your intake of white potatoes.
Choosing protein wisely Emphasise plant sources of protein, such as beans, nuts, and grains, to help you bypass unhealthy fats predominant in animal sources. Enjoying a wide variety of vegetables and eating beans and grains helps you get a full complement of amino acids over the course of a week. Shy away from protein sources high in saturated fat. Favor fish and well-trimmed poultry.
If you do eat beef, pick lean cuts. Grilling vegetables is safe, however. Turning the tide on weight gain Turning the tide to lose weight — or just holding the line at your current weight — can be difficult.
The following tips may help:. Line up support. Work with your doctor and, possibly, a nutritionist or personal trainer. Ask for help in setting a reasonable goal and taking small steps that make success more likely. Tell friends and family about your goal, too. Shut down the kitchen. Make your kitchen off-limits after dinner — even if you need to run a strip of crime tape across the door to do so.
Aim for a small change. Trimming five per cent to 10 per cent of your starting weight is a realistic goal with excellent health benefits, including reducing blood pressure and cholesterol levels and lowering the risk for diabetes. Eat well. Focus on vegetables and whole grains, which are digested slowly. Limit refined carbohydrates. Enjoy moderate amounts of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats in your diet. Cut down on saturated fats and avoid trans fats. Watch the balance. Taking in more calories than you burn off adds extra pounds.
Burning off more calories than you take in shaves pounds. A moderately active person who gets about 30 minutes of exercise a day needs 15 calories of food for each pound of body weight. To lose a pound a week, you need to lop off about calories a day by becoming more active and eating less. Step up activity. If you are struggling to maintain a healthy weight or need to lose weight, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend 60 to 90 minutes a day of moderate activity.
You can work out in one daily session or shorter bouts at least 10 minutes long. Walking is safe for practically everyone. By Chukwuma Muanya. Elderly Hong Kong women. However, an average Nigerian is not expected to live beyond his or her 55th birthday.
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