According to WHO, the life expectancy of Nigeria is 53 and 56years for male and female respectively, currently.
For those who might not really know about life expectancy evaluations, life expectancy is a statistical measure of the average years people of a particular country are expected to live. These evaluations are done based on the year of birth, current age and other demographic factors including sex.
It doesn’t mean you are not going to live  up to a 100years, for those that so desire, because WHO has evaluated our life expectancy to be so. You must understand that the figures are averaged figures. You must also understand that these statistics are not mere estimations. But then, the values could also change rapidly, depending on how well the government, but most of all individuals want to see them changed.
In evaluating life expectancy, certain factors are most reckoned: A country’s public health system, per capita income, life style and diet. These are factors used in evaluating the ‘whole’, and they work in tandem. It means you can’t be certain where you stand untill you go ‘personal’.
I was imagining how well Nigeria’s life expectancy could surge beyond this current values, with our poor public health system and low per capita income, and then I came across the Japan’s long life expectancy statistics: 86 years for women and 79 years for men! The longest in the globe. Japan also has the second-largest number of centenarians, estimated at 51,376. Japan’s Okinawa Island, the healthiest place on earth, has four times more people over 100 years than anywhere else.
“You might think it’s all in our genes, but when Japanese people adopt a western-style diet, they put on weight quickly”. This is a statement by Naomi Moriyama, co-author of Japanese women don’t get old or fat. 
The statement means diet is linked to health, and consequently a long life span.
Look at something interesting about the Japanese;
Eat with your eyes: “The magic of Japan-style eating is a healthier balance of filling, delicious lower-calorie foods, presented with beautiful portion control in pretty little dishes and plates. This way of dining encourages you to eat with your eyes by enjoying the beauty of your food. The result? You will want to slow down to enjoy every bite, which means eating less, because it gives your brain time to realize your body is full”—An excerpt from WebMD.
The Japanese eat a lot of fish and vegetable. They also walk and cycle. They also do Tai Chi and yoga. They also minimize smoking, eat less and drink less. Obviously this things are no secret to us. We hear them every day.
The secret is, they don’t just read and talk it. They do it, consciously.
Hopefully, we all will live above 80, but we can as well consciously defy any chance of falling into the 53/56 years period, if we decide to nurture a helpful life-style, possibly like the Japanese.

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