Beat the average life expectancy: top threats to your life span & how to tackle them

Aussie life expectancy has dropped for the first time in decades

This alarming headline hit the news recently. Did you see it? It’s the unfortunate findings from the latest Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) report. The report, which is issued every two years provides data on everything from hospitalisations, illnesses, causes of death and life expectancy in Australia.

What are the leading causes of death in Australia?

From 2020 to 2022, the top five underlying conditions causing death in this country were:

1. Coronary heart disease
2. Dementia
3. Cerebrovascular disease (stroke)
4. Covid
5. Lung cancer

Alongside these leading causes of death, the report distinguishes common conditions involved in death. This means that they are conditions that people may have been suffering from at the time of their death that have contributed to their overall ill health and reduced life span but may not have been the final factor in death. The top five health conditions that contributed to death are heart disease (20%), dementia (18%), hypertension (12%), stroke (11.5%) and diabetes (11.4%).

What is tragic about these statistics is that, with the exception of Covid, all of these conditions are considered preventable! Whilst humans are not supposed to live forever, it is possible to live a long, healthy and disease-free life span until a very advanced old age. Good genes and good luck help but mainly it takes the right diet and lifestyle to maintain good health. We’ll get to that shortly but first, more bad news…

Nearly 60% of all Australians are currently living with a chronic illness

Can you believe it? That’s not just older people, that’s the entire population!

We know from the statistics on death above that conditions such as heart disease and stroke, high blood pressure and diabetes are having a significant impact on Aussies. These conditions play a huge part in detracting from a person’s ability to enjoy life and be able to contribute fully to employment and community opportunities. It can, quite simply, make them a burden on family, friends and the health care system.

What statisticians are now seeing is a range of fast-growing chronic conditions that are having an increasingly heavy impact on our health and our health system. These include depression, anxiety, dementia and chronic liver disease.

In their report, the AIHW estimates the amount of a person’s life expectancy that they will live before the health consequences of disease or injury impact them. This latest measure says that Australian’s can expect to live approximately 88% of their life span in full health. Compared to previous reports, more people are living with a chronic disease and experiencing poor quality of life.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. There are things you can do to improve your health and avoid many of these preventable conditions.

What do we need to fix about our health, to outlive average life expectancy in Australia?

What is clear from the data is that the leading causes of death - coronary heart disease, dementia, hypertension, cerebrovascular disease, lung cancer and diabetes - all share many of the same risk factors. These risk factors include poor nutrition, smoking, high cholesterol, being physically inactive plus hypertension and diabetes as risk factors in and of themselves.

To beat the odds of an early death or many years of ill health prior to death, it’s obvious that we need to address these risk factors first and foremost. Doing so, will enable you to improve your health, regardless of your age, to prevent the onset or worsening of chronic conditions.

Top 7 tips for extending your life expectancy

Don’t wait! Anyone at any age can improve upon the health they have right now. These tips are universal and not hard to implement at all. Sometimes baby steps are the way to go – change one thing, get comfortable with that before moving onto your next goal. This can be easier than going hard at all your dietary and lifestyle changes and once and then failing because it’s all too overwhelming.

1. Eat a healthy balanced diet. The evidence is irresistible – eating the right nourishing foods will not only reduce your risk of the big killers such as heart disease, stroke, dementia, diabetes and hypertension but also help you to feel more energetic, lose weight, improve your skin, your sleep and your ability to handle stress. A healthy balanced diet involves eating a diverse range of foods to optimise your vitamin and mineral intake. This includes wholegrains; vegetables and fruit; lean protein such as meat, fish, eggs, legumes, nuts, seeds and dairy.
2. Stop smoking. Speak to your doctor or give the Quitline a call. There are plenty of resources available if you’re motivated enough to give it a try. Within a year of quitting, your heart disease risk will have halved.
3. Reduce your sodium intake. Did you know that excess sodium intake results in high blood pressure and increases your risk of heart attack, stroke, heart failure and kidney disease? Did you also know that Aussie’s consume twice the recommended level of sodium? Thankfully, you can now make an easy swap at home to natural, low sodium, potassium-enriched salt. This is exactly what Dietlicious has already done to reduce the sodium content of our meals, making them healthier without affecting the taste.
4. Increase your fibre intake. Did you know that fibre helps lower cholesterol and control blood sugars? Ingesting more fibre is associated with a lower risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and many types of cancers. Foods containing high fibre include wholegrains, vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts and seeds. Learn more about fibre’s health benefits here.
5. Bring your cholesterol levels down. Cholesterol contributes to fatty plaques in your arteries and increases cardiovascular risk. You can address this through a range of lifestyle changes such as reducing trans fats, eating more omega 3’s, eating healthy food, reducing alcohol amongst other things. Learn more about how to improve your cholesterol levels here.
6. Move your body more and sit less. Getting more active will lower your blood pressure, reduce your heart disease and diabetes risk, and improve your bones, mood and sleep! Learn more about the benefits of movement, the risks of prolonged sitting and how much exercise you should do.
7. Ditch the highly processed foods. Consumption of ultra processed foods is linked with risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and other health conditions. That’s because they’re packed with all sorts of un-natural additives, preservatives, sugars, sweeteners, fat, refined oils and salt. Opt for real foods and you will actually feel the difference.

Conditions such as heart disease, stroke, dementia, hypertension, diabetes and lung cancer are the primary causes of death and poor life quality in Australia. These conditions can be prevented or the onset of symptoms delayed, with the right diet and lifestyle changes available to anyone. Simple things such as eating a balanced diet without reliance on processed foods; reducing sodium by swapping to a potassium-enriched salt; eating more fibre; and getting more active can add years to your life.