Skip to main content

Life Expectancy: Could where you live influence how long you live? (rwjf.org)

 

People living just a few blocks apart may have vastly different opportunities to live a long life in part because of their neighborhood. Unfortunately, significant gaps in life expectancy persist across many United States cities, towns, ZIP codes and neighborhoods. The latest estimates of life expectancy reveal differences down to the census tract level. Use the interactive map, to explore how life expectancy in America compares with life expectancy in your area, and resources to help everyone have the opportunity to live a longer, healthier life.

Click https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data-...ion/life-expectancy/

How does where we live affect our opportunity to be healthy?

For the first time in our history, the United States is raising a generation of children who may live sicker and shorter lives than their parents. Reversing this trend will of course depend on healthy choices by each of us. But not everyone in America has the same opportunities to be healthy.

According to the most recent data available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, life expectancy in the United States is 77.8 yearsβ€”75.1 years for men and 80.5 years for women. During that same time period, life expectancy for non-Hispanic Black people decreased by 2.7 years (74.7 to 72); for Hispanic individuals, 1.9 years (81.8 to 79.9); and for non-Hispanic white people, 0.8 years (78.8 to 78). In 2018, the National Center for Health Statistics released first-of-its-kind neighborhood-level data on life expectancy, which shows that life expectancy estimates vary greatly even at the census tract level, from block to block.

Affordable, high-quality health care is essential to our health. But where we live can have an even greater impact. Improving health and longevity in communities starts with ensuring access to healthy food, good schools, affordable housing, and jobs that provide us the resources necessary to care for ourselves and our familiesβ€”in essence, the types of conditions that can help keep us from getting sick in the first place.

In a Culture of Health, we all have the opportunity to live the healthiest life possible, regardless of where we live. Browse the resources below to learn more about what shapes our health, and how to take action to help create healthier places to live, learn, work and play.

Please click here for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's post.

Add Comment

Comments (0)

Post
Copyright Β© 2023, PACEsConnection. All rights reserved.
×
×
×
×
Link copied to your clipboard.
×