Healthy ageing is in our hands considering that vulnerability starts at 45, according to health expert Guy Brandenburger who also said that Cypriots’ healthy years stop at around 63.
“After 45 we start to be vulnerable. At 55 we have to decide whether we want to have a good old age or not. Believe it or not, healthy ageing is in our hands,” said Brandenburger who heads the public health department of the Luxembourg government.
Addressing an OSAA scientific conference last week, he also said: “How we age is something that we determine to a very large extent”.
Latest data for Cyprus also shows that although Cypriots have a high life expectancy, their healthy years stop at around 63.
“The average Cypriot lives the last 20 years of his life with health issues…a large percentage of them (have health issues) while still in the labour market as well.”
A range of policies can contribute to increasing healthy life expectancy, including greater efforts to prevent health problems and promoting equal access to care, he also said.
In 2020, the number of healthy life years was 64.5 years for women and 63.5 years for men in the EU.
