States with the highest life expectancy

[Steely Dan]

And living up to its reputation as the most demographically average state, IL is right smack dab in the middle on life expectancy at #26 out 51.

[Northern Light]

The overall U.S. life expectancy seems quite concerning to me.

Canada is at 82.2

So the U.S. is ~5 years less.

Canada isn't even tops in the world, its around 19th.

But between Canada and the U.S. you'll find:

Uruguay at 78
Cuba at 78
Costa Rica at 79

And a host of developed nations as well.

Japan is tops at 85

Followed by:

Singapore at 84
South Korea, Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, Australia, Malta and the Faroe Islands at 83

Then joining Canada in the ~82 range are:

Sweden, Italy, Span, Ireland, France, Finland, New Zealand, Bermuda, Cayman Islands and a few more.

The U.S. on the Wikipedia-based list (there are many others) comes in at #54 in the world.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...ife_expectancy

And 8 years below the global leader.

[CivicBlues]

Originally Posted by 3rd&Brown

Yeah. Isn't Hawaii like 50% native Japanese at this point? I mean these folks are eating fish for virtually every meal.

I'm sorta surprised to not see Colorado in the top ten, if not at the very top.

If by 50% you mean 13.6%, and behind Fillipino-Americans in Hawaii at 14%

You do realize Japanese Americans aren't recent immigrants from Nagasaki who eat primarily what they catch right? Most are probably 3rd+ Generation and probably have very similar diets to an average Californian and possibly even worse with all the Spam, rice and all the savory sauces popular in Hawaii.

[FromSD]

Originally Posted by destroycreate

Not surprised to hear that tbh. I've also heard that the majority of people actually from the state are pretty rough around the edges--lots of meth, drugs, very crappy education system, insular mindset and a lot of racism. Plus, there are virtually no well paying jobs to speak of there, yet COL is sky high.

I have a different impression of Hawaii. Honolulu is a major city with a fair share of high paying jobs in trade and finance that you see in any big city. I also think that Hawaii may be the exception to the rule that jobs in tourism pay poorly. In California a lot of those jobs are often performed by immigrants (some undocumented) who are willing to work for a lower wage. I imagine there is much less illegal immigration into Hawaii just because it's so geographically isolated. That would tend to lift the pay scale for the lower end hotel and tourist jobs. Plus tourism in Hawaii is more high end than it is in most places in the U.S. It costs a lot to fly to Hawaii and people who do so want to stay in a nice resort hotel or condo. Those places don't come by cheap, so management can afford to pay their workers a little more.

Yes, there is rural poverty in Hawaii. One commenter mentioned the Big Island. I would guess that it is the poorest of the four major Hawaiian Islands. It is less dominated by tourism and has more of an agricultural focus. Oahu, Maui and Kauai are more affluent, with the median incomes of the latter two affected in particular by well-off retirees from the Mainland. But my impression has always been that wealthy enclaves notwithstanding, there is less of a wealth gap in Hawaii. There are a lot of middle class neighborhoods in Honolulu, and communities like Lihue on Kauai are dominated by neighborhoods consisting of comfortable single family homes.

That being said, I think the major contributor to the state's high life expectancy is the fact of its very large Asian population. Whether it's life style (including diet) or some sort of genetic inheritance, Asians in the US just tend to live longer. The large Asian population no doubt also contributes to California's above average life expectancy.

[chris08876]

All about keeping the heart healthy. If your 50 and you've had a heart attack and lived, you got roughly 8 more years left. If 70... 8 years left.

Likely diet with the Asians in Hawaii. Maybe lower stress that contributes to long life spans. I'd wager heavily on diet though.

[AviationGuy]

Originally Posted by sopas ej

My sister used to live in Hawaii, first in Honolulu "proper," then in Pearl City. She lived there for about 10 years before moving back to California. Anyway, visiting her and doing all the touristy stuff when she first moved there, some time later I spent a few weeks with her later, staying at her house, doing the regular day-to-day things, like errands, grocery shopping, etc. We went through a lot of non-touristy areas, but again, they didn't strike me as particularly poverty-stricken. You did see houses that can qualify as "shack"-looking, but it was more because of the smaller size and the building materials (cinderblock, even corrugated tin roofs); they were modest, obviously lower income, but nothing that seemed out of the ordinary, not like it was a cardboard box with no electricity or running water or anything. Granted, she and her family moved back to California in 2011-ish, so a lot might have changed since then?

Hehe her biggest complaint when she lived there was that they didn't have a lot of the stores she was used to. It seemed EVERYONE shopped at Walmart. When I was helping her put away her kids' toys, I noticed some Container Store bins, and I said "Oh, I didn't know they had Container Store in Hawaii." And she said in a very annoyed voice, "NO, they DON'T have Container Store here in Hawaii." Haha!

i can only say that on the Big Island, there are large areas of shanties. Real shacks and tents like you would see in 3rd world countries. The difference is that these shacks/tents are usually on fairly good sized parcels, with a lot of trees separating them. Many years ago, nomadic types and/or hippies from the mainland settled in such areas. Many of them are now quite elderly. It's a sad situation.

[AviationGuy]

Originally Posted by Sam Hill

The one that surprised me the most was New Mexico all the way down at 42. Based on what I’ve experienced on my few visits, that state has a culture more similar to Colorado than any other state (although California is pretty close as well). I assumed they’d at least be in the top 20. What gives? Too much cheese? lol

Most of my time spent in NM was spent in Santa Fe. I’m starting to think maybe Santa Fe is not very representative of the rest of NM.

I'm sure it's related to the Native American reservations, where lifespans are not great.

[harls]

Originally Posted by Sam Hill

The one that surprised me the most was New Mexico all the way down at 42.

At first I read this as the age and not the rank out of 50.

Originally Posted by Sam Hill

What gives? Too much cheese? lol

[Wigs]

Originally Posted by chris08876

I guess us NJ folks are all a bunch of Ginny Sacks having 90-pound mole surgery.

If I die eating a half pound of Gabagool, I die happy

[Dariusb]

Originally Posted by Northern Light

The overall U.S. life expectancy seems quite concerning to me.

Canada is at 82.2

So the U.S. is ~5 years less.

Canada isn't even tops in the world, its around 19th.

But between Canada and the U.S. you'll find:

Uruguay at 78
Cuba at 78
Costa Rica at 79

And a host of developed nations as well.

Japan is tops at 85

Followed by:

Singapore at 84
South Korea, Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, Australia, Malta and the Faroe Islands at 83

Then joining Canada in the ~82 range are:

Sweden, Italy, Span, Ireland, France, Finland, New Zealand, Bermuda, Cayman Islands and a few more.

The U.S. on the Wikipedia-based list (there are many others) comes in at #54 in the world.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...ife_expectancy

And 8 years below the global leader.

Damn USA, that's sad!

[BG918]

Originally Posted by Sam Hill

I was surprised too at first (although #12 aint bad) but the more I think about it, the more it makes sense. It seems I always see Colorado way up at number 1 or 2 on every good-health/least-obesity list, but I also always see it way up at number 1 or 2 on every most-drinking/most-partying list. I think all the drugs and alcohol are knocking us down a few notches.

Colorado is a different world outside of Denver/Boulder and some of the mountain resort towns. Go to Brighton, Aurora, Pueblo, Fort Lupton, etc and you’ll find lots of obese/unhealthy people. Even in Denver proper go to the zoo on a weekend or a Broncos game and you’ll see plenty of overweight people.

[dc_denizen]

Colorado has less obesity than Canada, 25% vs 26%

[Sam Hill]

Originally Posted by BG918

Colorado is a different world outside of Denver/Boulder and some of the mountain resort towns. Go to Brighton, Aurora, Pueblo, Fort Lupton, etc and you’ll find lots of obese/unhealthy people. Even in Denver proper go to the zoo on a weekend or a Broncos game and you’ll see plenty of overweight people.

Once every couple years I find myself in a Walmart. And I immediately feel like a fish out of water. On the one hand the clientele is racially diverse. On the other hand, they’re virtually all fat and dressed like it’s 2005, and I can’t help but wonder why.

It’s like when you go to the DMV. Same deal.

I get what you’re saying.

[sopas ej]

Originally Posted by CivicBlues

If by 50% you mean 13.6%, and behind Fillipino-Americans in Hawaii at 14%

You do realize Japanese Americans aren't recent immigrants from Nagasaki who eat primarily what they catch right? Most are probably 3rd+ Generation and probably have very similar diets to an average Californian and possibly even worse with all the Spam, rice and all the savory sauces popular in Hawaii.

And of those Filipino-Americans in Hawaii, a great majority of them (80-something percent) are Ilocano. Just thought I'd mention that. I have a feeling that people generally think of Filipinos all being the same, but there are a lot of ethno-linguistic groups within the Philippines.

[MolsonExport]

Originally Posted by harls