What is the maximum life of a human being? Can a human live forever? First, we must define what life expectancy is. Life expectancy refers to a prediction of the number of years left an individual will live at a given age. (Dudley L. Poston 2005) Typically, life expectancy is applied to at birth, but it can be calculated at any age. Currently, the average life expectancy in the United States is 78 years at birth. (Graph 1) The increase in life expectancy over the last century has been caused by technological advancements and better living conditions. While the oldest recorded person in the world is 122 years of age, we will see in the future another person with an age greater than 122 years. (Table 1)
NameAgeBornDied
Jeanne Calment
122 yr 164 d21 February 1875
4 August 1997
Shigechiyo Izumi
120? yr 237 d29 June 1865?
21 February 1986
Sarah Knauss
119 yr 97 d24 September 1880
30 December 1999
Lucy Hannah
117 yr 248 d16 July 1875
21 March 1993
Marie-Louise Meilleur
117 yr 230 d29 August 1880
16 April 1998
MarÃÂa Capovilla
116 yr 347 d14 September 1889
27 August 2006
Tane Ikai
116 yr 175 d18 January 1879
12 July 1995
Carrie C.
White
116? yr 88 d18 November 1874?
14 February 1991
Elizabeth Bolden
116 yr +15 August 1890
-
Kamato Hongo
116? yr 45 d16 September 1887?
31 October 2003
Table 1: Top 10 Oldest Humans (Contributors)
The start point for calculating life expectancy is to calculate the age-specific mortality rates of people in a population at each age. The ratio of the numbers of deaths to 1000 individuals is referred to as the crude death rate. An example of this would be a person having a 10% death rate age at the age...
Opinion
An interesting subject but figures that are mentioned in the text are not present.
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