The Effect of Poverty on Longevity

Research shows that people who are poor are far more likely to die at younger ages. This is a fact that is not limited to developing nations.

Poorest Countries

• Life expectancy rates in the poorest countries lag far behind the rest of the world.

  Most people in the world can expect to live to the age of 68, according to the State of the World's Children 2009 report from UNICEF. But this figure drops to just 55 years in the world's least-developed countries and to 50 years in sub-Saharan Africa, one of the poorest regions of the world.

Poverty's Effects

• Poverty is a top killer of children.

  UNICEF reports that 25,000 children across the globe die each day because they live in poverty.

U.S. Not Immune

• Life expectancies are lower for poor people in the United States, too.

  The United States may be the world's richest country, but the poor in the U.S. also have shorter life expectancies. A 2008 report by the Harvard School of Public Health said that life expectancy rates were declining among the residents of the poorest counties in the country even while overall life expectancy rates in the United States were reaching record levels.

Causes in the U.S.

• The Harvard study cited such factors as obesity and high blood pressure as the reasons why life expectancy rates in poorer counties were falling. According to the study, people who live in poverty cannot afford the best medical care, which means they do not receive proper treatment for maladies such as high blood pressure. They also tend to suffer more from obesity because they eat cheaper fast-food meals more often.

Causes Abroad

• Famine is one of the causes of lower life expectancy across the globe.

  The UNICEF report points to famine, lack of adequate medical care and government corruption as some of the reasons life expectancy rates are lower in the world's poorest countries.