Longer Lives Predicted for 2013 Babies

The Office for National Statistics in Britain has revealed that nearly one third of children born today will reach the age of 100. Of babies born in 2013, 39% of girls and 30% of boys will celebrate their centenary in 2013.

There are 14,000 people in the UK who are 100 or over. These trends suggest that in 100 years, we could be looking at 20 million! Futurist and trend experts have further revealed some surprising projections for this next generation of babies born this year:

The average life expectancy for a boy born today is 80. For a girl, it’s 83.

Only 34% of boys and 39% of girls born this year will be a healthy size in adult life.

Children born today are very likely to try a cigarette by the age of 11.

The number of girls who risk breast cancer in their lifetime is 1 in 8.

31 is the age they are most likely to have their first child (that’s 2 years later than their parents, and 5 years later than their grandparents).

They are most likely to get married at 33 years of age.

In Britain, today’s babies are expected to clear student debts at age 52 and finally pay mortgages off at 61.

Interestingly, one trend expert says that 65% of these babies will most likely work a job that does not even exist yet. He says that they are most likely to be self-employed or working short-term employment contracts, with permanent jobs becoming a thing of the past.

He points out how unpredictable their lifestyle will be considering the rapid rate of technological innovation.

It’s not far fetched to to say that they could well be flying a plane from inside their house.

The predicted trends, of course, depend on a number of factors – including advancements in science, medicine and technology.

While some experts predict as much as half of today’s babies living to 100 and more – obesity and type 2 diabetes rates are soaring, and more people are living alone.

These trends and the uncertainty surrounding them raise a number of questions about increased longevity. Do longer lives mean more opportunity? Or more challenges? How can we best prepare our children for much longer lives ahead?