Podcast An old issue: Ep. 2 – THE CONQUEST

Hi, my name is Ricardo Crispim and this is the podcast An old issue!

I begin today’s episode by thanking you for your support. I have received beautiful and encouraging messages that confirm how right I was when I decided to dust off this idea and turn it into something I have really enjoyed doing.

I can’t continue with the episode without first thanking inEnglish for their support. inEnglish is a language school and translation centre located in the city of Leiria. In this school that I call home, there are teachers who are very committed to making their students excellent English learners. Oh, and may I remind you that inEnglish is also recognized by the Directorate-General for Employment and Labour Relations (DGERT) and it is also a Cambridge University Press Learning Partner.

All that being said, let’s move on to today’s episode, to which I’ve given the title of “The Conquest”.

Yes, the conquest. Longevity is a conquest. It is an achievement and a cause for celebration.

Consider this: Currently and according to PORDATA, the life expectancy in Portugal at birth is 81 years, which is about 14 years longer than in 1970. In other words, someone who is born in 2023 may live, on average, more than 80 years. Basically, this means that this country is for old people, although many may argue the contrary. We are better off today than we were in the past. But what about the idea that “Everything was better in the past!”? Well, in the past, we had extreme poverty, we lacked hygiene and health conditions, behaviours and lifestyles led to premature deaths. In the past, people had very little chances of reaching old age. And, yes, it’s important to remember this fact: aging nowadays is much better than it was in the past.

Also, the scenario in Portugal today is very different. I’m not sure if you are aware, but there are many more people in older age groups – in their 80’s and 90’s, or even centenarians, than there were in the past. Let me share another relevant fact: in the last five decades, there have been over 1.6 million people aged 65 or older in Portugal. You may be wondering, “And what was it like in the past?” Well, in 1970, this group of 65 or older represented only 10% of the population, yet today, please note, that it represents 23%. You’re now doing the math, right? Let me break it down for you, even though I’m more of a humanities person: exactly one in four residents in Portugal is 65 years old or older.

But we didn’t get here by chance. This evolution has happened due to a decrease in the mortality rate, but also due to a decrease in the birth rate. Regarding the mortality rate, I can tell you that at the age of 65, the life expectancy is about 20 more years. Let me break that down again: today, a person who reaches the age of 65 can expect to live another 20 years. That’s six more years than in 1970. However, this reality is not the same for both women and men. When reaching the age of 65, a woman may live up to 21 years more, and a man may live up to 18 years more. Worse for me as I would like to live to 100! Although there’s a slight difference between men and women, the truth is that living longer, regardless of gender, should be a cause for celebration.

Even though many of the people I come across say they won’t reach or don’t want to reach old age, maybe because many of those years are lived with poor quality of life (according to statistics), but we can talk about that in another episode. The truth is that the data indicates that many of us will reach old age. We might even reach 100 years. That’s right, 100 years. In 2022, 2,940 people aged 100 or older lived in Portugal, while in 2012, 10 years earlier, there were 1,658 people who were a century old or more. An increase of 77% in the last 10 years.

So, isn’t this a reason to celebrate? Of course it is! I finish today’s episode exactly the same way I started it: Let’s celebrate this conquest, because if we’ve made it this far… why should we demonize old age?

Thank you for being on that side. I’m counting on you for the next episode. Oh, by the way, in the next episode I’m going to talk about shoes. Yes, that’s right – shoes!

Until then!