Health inequality, insider betting, and Trump in court

New data published in the Birleşik Krallık reveals that healthy life expectancy has seen the steepest decline in the country's most deprived areas. This decline is partly attributed to the lasting effects of COVID-19, but the primary cause is stated to be the cuts applied to health services by the previous government. It is noted that a person living in a wealthy area has a healthy life expectancy of almost 20 years more than someone living in a deprived area. It is emphasized that a similar situation is observed in Amerika Birleşik Devletleri, and that declines in health are also being experienced in Almanya, Kanada, and Hollanda. This inequality is deepening the gap between different segments of society.

The health think tank The Health Foundation states that measures such as reducing smoking, improving diet, and increasing physical activity can delay the onset of diseases and increase daily well-being. It is expressed that safe jobs, quality housing, and supportive local environments also affect physical and mental health. It is emphasized that being unhealthy is bad in every respect and that the problem is progressively worsening. Therefore, while the disruptive forces of the new economy are expected to respond to this challenge, the situation does not look very promising.

Companies like Sam Altman-backed Retro Biosciences and Altos Labs promise to increase healthy life expectancy by targeting aging mechanisms. Suudi Arabistan's Hevolution initiative also aims to accelerate the transition from lifespan to healthspan. Start-ups operating in a "free city" off the coast of Honduras, on the other hand, are working towards a disease-free future by allowing all kinds of medical research. However, most of these initiatives focus on expensive treatments like gene therapy and stem cells, rather than basic health issues such as getting vaccinated, eating healthy, quitting smoking, or exercising more.

These expensive treatments will only benefit those who can afford them and are already in good shape. In the Birleşik Krallık, Genflow aims to slow down the aging process in dogs so that the super-rich do not have to be deprived of their pets in an artificially extended future. This situation can be seen as a metaphor for late capitalism in the West; the focus is on the needs of a minority (and their pets) rather than the entirety of society. It is stated that a similar model is also seen in countries like Rusya and Çin.

In Rusya, it is stated that Muscovites live longer than provincials, but the relatively good health status of non-drinkers in Muslim regions complicates the picture. It is reported that Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping focused on the topic of immortality rather than closing the inequality during their meetings last year. Putin saying that immortality could be achieved through continuous organ transplants, and Xi stating that there is a chance to live up to the age of 150 in this century, shows that the leaders are out of touch with reality. Meanwhile, the insider betting scandal and Trump's court process are also among the other important headlines of the news.