Life Longevity in US Declines Again
The link below is to the New York Times article that reviews recent research on longevity in America. It shows that life expectancy declined from 79 in 2019 to 77.4 in 2020 and now is 76. Women, as shown in many previous studies, tend to live longer than men by several years, but they experience a decline as well. Longevity for women is now 79.1 while it is 73.2 for men. Africa-Americans, Native Americans and Hispanic Americans all declined as well, and more than whites. One of the primary causes is limited access to healthcare in the United States compared to other countries. Other contributing factors are the Covid pandemic, which claimed over one million people, as well as heart disease, alcohol and drug addiction, and cirrhosis of the liver.
The message I take away is that as we get older, taking care of our health becomes even more important. I address three elements to improve one’s health in my book, Next Stage:
- You are what you eat – Diet
- Don’t just sit there, do something – Exercise
- Do something personal for yourself – Stress management, mindfulness, relationships and more.
Enjoy the article. Think about what you can do to protect yourself and help yourself become healthier so you can enjoy this precious time.
Tom
Here’s the link: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/31/health/life-expectancy-covid-pandemic.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
