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Reason for Higher Longevity

An overall predictor for higher personal longevity is to look at your immediate family -- parents and grandparents -- and see how long they lived and how they died. Other factors in increasing longevity are eating a healthy diet, exercising, not drinking too much alcohol, not smoking and not being overweight or obese. Researchers estimate that lifestyle influences up to 70 percent of longevity. Since the beginning of the 20th century, longevity has increased, and there are now 84,000 centenarians, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

  1. Country

    • Where you live is a factor in longevity. As of 2011, people in Monaco have the highest life expectancy at 89.73 years, followed by Macau at 84.41 years and San Marino at 83.01 years. Of the industrialized countries, Japan is the highest at 82.25 years. Canada ranks 11th on the list at 81.38 years, while the United States is 50th at 78.37 years. People in Afghanistan and Angola have the lowest life expectancy at 45.02 and 38.76 years respectively.

    Socio-Economic Standing

    • Researchers at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation estimate that the life expectancy is reduced by 4.9 years for men and 4.1 years for women in the U.S. from preventable factors: overweight and obesity, smoking, high blood pressure and elevated blood glucose. The most affected group is Southern rural blacks, with a life expectancy reduction of 5.7 years for women and 6.7 for men. Low-income whites and Native Americans in the Mississippi Valley and Appalachia regions are the heaviest smokers.

    Education

    • Research links conscientiousness -- being aware of one's personal and collective identify -- and higher education to longevity for males. The effects of conscientiousness and higher education have yet to be determined for females. These finding were determined by using the Terman life cycle, which takes into account factors such as early health measures, IQ, personality ratings and detailed background characteristics.

    GDP

    • Populations with a higher gross domestic product (GDP) tend to have longer life expectancies. Health -- both physical and mental well-being -- enables individuals to participate in the workforce and to contribute to the overall advancement of the economy, thus producing a higher GDP. The general good health of a population also means that people learn faster and retain information longer. The average expectancy for the OCED, a group of industrialized countries, is 76 years for men and 82 for women. People with more disposable income tend to access more health services and to take better care of themselves.

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