For the first time in human history, the main causes of mortality are not war, famine, or natural disasters.
But our own decisions.
A study looked at the 2.4 million deaths in the US in the year 2000.
Out of all them, over a million came down to lifestyle choices and poor risk assessment.
And it gets uglier…
When we narrow the analysis to people aged 15-64, 55% of deaths were self-inflicted.
Now, lets’ compare that with history:
1900: only 5%.
1950: 20-25%.
As medicine, science and technology improve, we become our own worst threat.
To be fair, these decisions are taken under different contexts.
Not everyone has access to the same resources, education or mentors.
We shouldn’t blame ourselves, but we must acknowledge the power of our decisions and take responsibility for them.
It’s up to us to make efforts to improve our context so we can make better decisions.
- What’s your access to ultraprocessed/junk food? Do you keep that crap in your pantry, or only eat it when you’re out?
- Do you drink socially with other people, or do you ‘socialize’ with yourself every night?
- Is your daily cardio walking from couch to fridge to couch?
- What kind of anxiety-making content do you consume on TV and social media?
- Unprotected sex? No glove, no love.
Progress has given us antibiotics and safe water.
But it can’t stop us from lighting that cigarette, binging on Instagram until 2 a.m., or ignoring the gym, again.
That’s on us.