Children Increase Life Expectancy
Researchers at the Karolinska Institute studied the life expectancy of 1.4 million Swedes and came to the conclusion: ” Children increase life expectancy. ” This is especially true with men.
The researchers studied 704,481 men and 725,290 women, ages 60 and over, who were born between 1911 and 1925. Among the data collected were marital status, number of children, and gender.
After evaluating the results, it turned out that parents have a longer life compared to childless people.
People over the age of 60 have nearly two years longer life expectancy when they have children.
According to the study published in the journal Epidemiology and Community Health, maternal life expectancy is around 60 years and 24.6 years. For fathers it is 20.2 years. For women without children it is 23.1 years, for childless men it is 18.4.
At 80, fathers still have 7.7 years to live (compared to 7 years for men without children). It is even 9.5 years for mothers and 8.9 for women without children.
You live a healthier life when you have children
People who have children usually adopt healthier lifestyles than people who live alone. Children increase life expectancy and this is one of the reasons why.
The study also showed that men who live in families live much longer than those without families. This is probably because married men have to provide for their families.
Single men or widowers, on the other hand, are more dependent on their children.
However, the study was observational, so no conclusions can be drawn about the reasons and effects of this relationship.
For the researchers, “the study suggests that the connection is stronger as the parents get older.”
This is in line with other studies showing that people without children lack support later in life.
Children increase life expectancy
While studying factors like education, researchers found that life expectancy is higher when you have at least one child.
Surprisingly , it didn’t make that much difference in women whether they were mothers or not.
However, important differences were found between men who were parents and those who were not. Why this is so cannot be adequately explained. It may be that men were safer than women when they got married.
Another factor is that single women often have a higher level of education than married women. It is the other way around with men.
Longevity and family are linked
A healthy diet, physical activity, and occasional exercise are recommended by doctors for a healthy and long life.
Furthermore, contrary to popular belief, children are conducive to longevity.
Five of the six oldest people in the world had children and lived with large families.
Children increase life expectancy. In Germany this is currently 79 years for men and 84 years for women.
This is constantly increasing due to the advancing development and the improved quality of life. It was also discovered that having children slowed the biological aging process in women.
According to Canadian researchers at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, the hormone estrogen, which is released in large quantities during pregnancy, helps.
This strengthens the above-mentioned study from the Epidemiology and Community Health Journal.
