life expectancy in the U.S.

Investment Analysis Clubs Macro Economic Trends and Risks
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This article makes some interesting observations. Why has the U.S. fared worse than the U.K. in the last 30 years? And why do foreign-born Americans live so much longer?

America Is a Rich Death Trap, September 7, 2022
“Before the 1990s, average life expectancy in the U.S. was not much different than it was in Germany or the United Kingdom, as I’ve reported. But according to a paper comparing U.S. and European mortality, American babies are more likely to die before they turn 5; American teens are more likely to die before they turn 20; and American adults are more likely to die before they turn 65. “Europe has better life outcomes than the United States across the board, for white and Black people, in high-poverty areas and low-poverty areas,” says Hannes Schwandt, a Northwestern University economist and co-author of the paper. Despite our extraordinary wealth, innovation, and panoply of glittering appliances, Americans overall suffer from something like a lifelong death premium.”
“foreign-born Americans live so much longer than native-born Americans—seven years longer for men, and 6.2 years longer for women—that immigration alone accounted for roughly half of America’s total life-expectancy gains from 2007 to 2017.”
https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2022/09/amer…

Life Expectancy at Birth by State
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/life_expectancy/li…

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And why do foreign-born Americans live so much longer?

Diet? Parental diet? Those would be my best guesses.

The Captain

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And why do foreign-born Americans live so much longer

Well, in comparison to Americans who die prematurely , we tend to not be… overweight, sedentary, alcohol or other drug abusers gun toters etc. Early learned habits count for a lot. Mind you, since dh and I are only 74 and 70 respectively right now, maybe that’s a premature observation.

Better to wonder about the differences between American born Americans who’re long lived…Loma Linda, with a high proportion of Adventists, is a designated Blue Zone…and the rest

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This is a political party map as well

From the OP:

Life Expectancy at Birth by State
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/life_expectancy/li…

No politics on Metar! :slight_smile:

Jeff

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This is a situation that doesn’t have an Occam’s Razor answer.

While I haven’t read the article, need to start with an apples to apples comparison. The USA treats many premature births as any other live births. A 22 weeker comes out and makes a peep and/or has a heart beat, it counts. Other countries either don’t treat, can’t treat, and/or count differently. That is why you will see some 3rd world countries have better infant mortality rates than the USA. A few hundred per hundred thousand starts to skew numbers.

After that, other big causes have already been mention: drug use, gun violence, and obesity.

JLC

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Upbringing by immigrants and their children I have known regularly shows
– strong sense of inherent contingency of life requiring prudential choices to overcome adversities known and unknown while also providing assets needed to seize opportunities,
– determination to work to succeed despite hardships instills ambition backed by discipline,
– large payoffs to having big dreams worked toward continually conscienciously and with communal familial support, and
– lack of spoiling wealth with abundance of love has a huge positive impact on both health and character.

Mom and Dad modeled their parenting on that of their frontier parents and grandparents, and on that of the WWII refugee immigrants whom they admired and often worked with. No obesity, personal bankruptcy, pernicious addictions, nor divorces with children in the entire extended family out to second cousins. Except for those killed or wounded in war and one glioblastoma, everybody made it to their late 70`s, and most into their late 80’s and 90’s.

david fb

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"Before the 1990s,

Of course, 1990 was near the tenth anniversary of the US turning to “supply side economics”, where everything has to be rationed by ability to pay, and self indulgence is encouraged vs following the “big gummit” recommendations of eating right and exercising regularly. Lets add the rise of superstition in the 80s.

How long would it take, for the results of a major change in policy and environment to show up in the data?

Steve

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steve:“Of course, 1990 was near the tenth anniversary of the US turning to “supply side economics”, where everything has to be rationed by ability to pay, and self indulgence is encouraged vs following the “big gummit” recommendations of eating right and exercising regularly. Lets add the rise of superstition in the 80s.”

A big whine, no?

Since 1890, things have been ‘rationed’ by ability to pay. Farmer Jones only bought a new plow when it made sense. Average Americans bought a new car/used car, in the 19teens when Henry Ford brought the price to ‘affordable’. Not everyone could buy a car.

when toasters and irons and refrigerators came out, not ‘everyone’ could afford them.

When radios first came out they were not cheap. Most people made or bought one anyway. Lots of homemade sets to tune in broadcasts.

When TV came out, not everyone could afford much more than a 5 or 7 inch screen - which ratcheted up to 13 to 15 inch - black and white of course.

Yeah, in the 1980s, not everyone could afford to buy a PC…eventually they got so cheap you can buy a 13 inch screen laptop at Microcenter now for $79, and $59 on sale.

Even going back 150 or 200 years, it’s always been a case of ‘rationing’ of goods by price and affordability.

So what else is new other than Big Gubmit urging folks to eat right , stay healthy, etc. And do away with quack dangerous drugs…

since the beginning of the country, there has always been ‘marketing’ to convince people to ‘indulge’. In the last 70 years, I don’t recall anything that didn’t urge people to consume this or that. Wheaties, Pop-crackle- and crunch, Put a tiger in your tank, the Marlboro man, Birds eye frozen food, Florida OJ, and you name it…

Does the gubmit urge folks to consume?

Well, our entire economy is based on consumption. If people only buy the bare necessities - the economy will crater. From food to manufacturing. To aviation. No vacation travel. Bare bones diet. no extra calories. No pizza, no ice cream. No expensive hobbies. No concerts or sports events. But everyone can ‘afford that’ so is that the final outcome? Is that how you reach ‘fairness’?

t.

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