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Location: New Albany, Indiana (Greater Louisville)
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Wow, this really surprised me - since 1980 the life expectancy for women declined in 12 percent of American counties. In parts of Southern Appalachia the decline is as high as 5 years
It doesn't surprise me much. My grandmother lives in Kentucky, right on the border of the 3rd world mountains known as Appalachia, in a small town of just 1700. The way people live there is terrible. I just visited 4 weeks ago.
I don't want to insult anyone's lifestyle, but when people are overweight, they smoke, and they just don't take care of themselves, they aren't going to live as long. Appalachia has entire towns where everyone living there is like that. My grandmother had lost every single one of her teeth by the time she was 36. EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM! Until the mentality in those towns changes, things will probably just get worse.
It doesn't surprise me much. My grandmother lives in Kentucky, right on the border of the 3rd world mountains known as Appalachia, in a small town of just 1700. The way people live there is terrible. I just visited 4 weeks ago.
I don't want to insult anyone's lifestyle, but when people are overweight, they smoke, and they just don't take care of themselves, they aren't going to live as long. Appalachia has entire towns where everyone living there is like that. My grandmother had lost every single one of her teeth by the time she was 36. EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM! Until the mentality in those towns changes, things will probably just get worse.
That would explain why it would be low in the first place. But what would explain why it would be getting lower?
hi increase in mortality on the coast. when women took those "guy jobs". their stress went way up. its now a girls world but #1 killer of women is heart attack.
Noticing the gender gap.... I'd have to say smoking is a big factor here. All recent studies have pointed towards males smoking less and females smoking more....with that much of a gender gap for declining life expectancies....the cause would have to be something females are starting to do more and males are either holding steady or declining.... and the big one I can think of is smoking.
Could it be a difference of who lives there. I lived in an area where most people lived to be 80 or 90. A lot of these people had ancestors from the area of Ireland and Scotland who traditionally had long lives. That area is now getting many people with different ancestors than those. We usually ate very little meat after breakfast and worked in the garden to grow those. Different lifestyles and different ancestors combined can make the statistics change.
Perhaps it has something to do with... oh say access to medical facilities and health insurance...
Statistics show that the further you are from these, the more likely you are to be healthy. In looking at the North Carolina map, the areas with the best medical have the decline. The mountains and the coast where there is little in the way of medical care have no change or improvement. Charlotte has improvement, but again I think that is a change of who is living there. Charlotte has a lot of transplants.
I read that statistic years ago and it stuck in my mind. For instance someone who lives in the wilds of Alaska will probably be more healthy than someone living in Chicago. Eating natural is always good though. When I was growing up on a farm in the mountains of North Carolina, I might get candy once in a few months. Now it is available at the service station less than a half mile away.
Could it be a difference of who lives there. I lived in an area where most people lived to be 80 or 90. A lot of these people had ancestors from the area of Ireland and Scotland who traditionally had long lives. That area is now getting many people with different ancestors than those. We usually ate very little meat after breakfast and worked in the garden to grow those. Different lifestyles and different ancestors combined can make the statistics change.
Sometimes I cannot believe what I post late at night. LOL We worked in the garden to grow vegetables, not meat. Somehow I left that out.
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