Data from Waaler, 1984. H stands for height in cm and M for mortality with 1.0 as the average.

Fogel is concerned with living standards, morbidity and mortality over some 300 years. US citizens after World War II were the tallest in the world, but now the Scandanavians are. Obesity is a new plague for England, the US and others like Mexico.

Gabrielle Dobblhammer & James Vaupel (2000) and Dobblhammer (2002) have shown that life expectancy at 50 varies seasonally with the month of birth. In October & November, the mothers had access to cheap and plentiful fresh fruits, vegetables and eggs. The offspring can be expected to live about 3/4 of a year longer than those who were born in the spring.

Fogel argues that large expenditures on health are a boon to the economy, and that the health care industry will play a leading role, just as railroads, automobiles and computers have.

If there are difficulties with the funding of healthcare, or with social security and pension schemes that were predicated at a lower level of life expectancy, the problems lie only with faulty planning.

Contributions to saving accounts would have to be compulsory. A third of income would be set aside for a longer and possibly happier life.