I’m apparently at an age where my LinkedIn feed is full of sponsored posts with images of buff men exercising, assuring me that
“The average male in the USA lives to 74 Years Old. That means you are middle aged at 37. Only 1 in 5 men will see 85.”
Current life expectancy for men in the US is almost 76. Not hugely different, but different enough that claiming it’s 74 is a red flag. (It’s possible they are quoting 2020 numbers, when Covid took a big bite out of life expectancy, but even with this generous interpretation, they are making claims about current life expectancy.)
The second part of the claim, that only 1 in 5 men will see 85 is also wrong. If you reach adulthood, say 20, your odds of reaching 85 are somewhere around 40%. (This is not an exact science, and odds vary based on many demographic and genetic factors.) They are trying to argue that from birth, only 1 in 5 men will make 85, which you can see in some places, but that’s probaby a bit pessimistic. The point is, once you make it through childhood, your odds go up.
Another ad warns:
“The average American male lives to 75. By 65, 9 in 10 already have a chronic condition. Only 3 in 10 make it to 85.”
This one still gets the years wrong, but is right about chronic conditions (although of course that covers a pretty broad range). Once you reach 65, you have over a 45% chance of reaching 85.
Do these folks offer beneficial health and wellness advice? Maybe, but they are either sloppy and/or dishonest and I wouldn’t trust them with my health or my wallet.
Of course, we *should* all be honest, just because that’s how we should live, but I can understand that people see obvious lies and frauds building great fortunes and maybe they think that’s how to do it.
(There are plenty of accurate messages you could send about helping middle aged men healthier. And given that they are targeting people on LinkedIn, they could craft a much more specific, more compelling story.)
But if you’re in a relationship business, you need trust– don’t destroy it out of the gate.