Baby boomers, take it from a 91-year-old: a long life with poorer health is bad news, and unnecessary | Joan Bakewell

I'm lucky. I have enjoyed good health and lived to see many societal dreams realised. That privilege should be available to all

Some things get better. When I was born - in 1933 - my life expectancy was about 65 years; if I were born today, it would be 84 and a half. I am currently 91, and my life expectancy as of now is for four and a half more years. My mother died at 57, weakened by long years of leukaemia, then untreatable. I have already outlived her by 34 years. My father died at 87 after 30 years of retirement filled with gin and golf.

According to the latest research, however, some things are getting worse for the generations that followed mine. While life expectancy is still increasing for baby boomers and people in their 50s, they are living for longer with worse health than previous generations.