Do you know that In the Year

1776: Average life expectancy in United States was 35 years old.

1997: Average life expectancy in United States was 77 years old.

Life expectancy in United States has dropped for a second year in a row in 2018 according to CDC.

The new average life expectancy for Americans is 78.7 years, which puts US behind other developed nations and 1.5 years lower than the Organization for Economic Cooperation and development (OECD) average life expectancy of 80.3 years. OECD is comprised of Canada, Germany, Mexico, France, Japan and the United Kingdom.

 

United States was a global leader of longevity in the 1960’s. However, the decline now has been attributed to

Opioid epidemic. CDC has reported a 21% increase in overdose deaths in 2018 and 137% increase between 2000 and 2014.

 

The top ten Countries with the highest longevity are:

 Based on life expectancy forecast for 2040:

  • 1) Spain (85.8 years)
  • 2) Japan (85.7 years)
  • 3) Singapore (85.4 years)
  • 4) Switzerland (85.2 years)
  • 5) Portugal (84.5 years)
  • 6) Italy (84.5 years)
  • 7) Israel (84.4 years)
  • 8) France (84.3 years)
  • 9) Luxembourg (84.1 years)
  • 10) Australia (84.1 years)

United States will take the biggest drop in ranking of all high-income countries, falling from 43rd in 2016 to 64th by 2040, with an average life expectancy of 79.8. US will be overtaken by China, which rises 29 places to 39th in the table.

Americans will live only 1.1 years longer on average in 2040 compared to 2016, well below the average global rise of 4.4 years over that same period ☹

What is Blue Zone:

Dan Buettner has researched for more than 10 years to identify places where people live longer around the world. With the help of the National Geographic Society, Buettner set out to locate places that not only had high concentrations of individuals over 100 years old, but also clusters of people who had grown old without health problems like heart disease, obesity, cancer, or diabetes.

His findings—along with easy steps you can take to live more like these cultures—can be found in his book, The Blue Zones Solution.

IKARIA, GREECE

This island eight miles off the coast of Turkey in the Aegean Sea has some of the world’s lowest rates of middle-age mortality and dementia. Research links their increased longevity with their traditional Mediterranean diet, which is heavy in vegetables and healthy fats and contains smaller amounts of dairy and meat products

OKINAWA, JAPAN

The largest island in a subtropical archipelago controlled by Japan, Okinawa is home to the world’s longest-lived women.

Food staples like Okinawan sweet potatoes, soybeans, mugwort, turmeric, and goya (bitter melon) keep Okinawans living long and healthy lives.

OGLIASTRA REGION, SARDINIA

The mountainous highlands of this Italian island boast the world’s highest concentration of centenarian men. Its population consumes a low-protein diet associated with lower rates of diabetes, cancer, and death for people under age 65.

LOMA LINDA, CALIFORNIA

This community has the highest concentration of Seventh-day Adventists in the United States, and some residents live 10 more healthy years than the average American by following a biblical diet of grains, fruits, nuts, and vegetables.

NICOYA PENINSULA, COSTA RICA

In this region of Central America, residents have the world’s lowest rate of middle-age mortality and the second highest concentration of male centenarians. Their longevity secret lies partly in their strong faith communities, deep social networks, and habits of regular, low-intensity physical activity.

Super-centenarian is someone who has reached the age of 110 years.

This age is achieved by about one in a thousand  centenarians.

It is estimated that there are between 150 and 600 living people who have reached the age of 110.

A study conducted in 2010 showed that the countries with most supercentenarians were United States, United Kingdom, Japan, France and Italy. The first verified supercentenarians in human history died in the late 19th century.
Until the 1980s, the maximal age to be attained by supercentenarians was 114, but this has now been surpassed. To date, there are 7 undisputed cases of people who have lived to 116 years of age or older.

The oldest person ever whose age has been independently verified is Jeanne Calment (1875–1997) of France, who lived to the age of 122 years, 164 days.

Statistic, content and pictures are adopted from the National Geographic site, US Census, A4M and Wikipedia.