U.S. elders don't live as long as others

[flashl]

WASHINGTON, March 28 (UPI) -- Older U.S. adults are richer and live longer, but U.S. life expectancy at age 65 is lower than in other industrialized countries, U.S. researchers said.

The report by the Federal Interagency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics found the proportion of older people with incomes below the poverty line went from 15 percent to 9 percent. Those with low income dropped from 35 percent to 26 percent and those with high incomes increased from 18 percent to 29 percent.

Median net worth for households headed by whites age 65 and older was six times that of older black households, although the gap has slightly narrowed since 2003, the report said.

U.S. life expectancy is lower than that of many high-income countries, such as Canada, France, Sweden and Japan. For example, in 2003, women age 65 in Japan could expect to live 3.2 years more on average than women in the United States, with the difference among men at 1.2 years.

UPI

These stats will probably worsen as long as 'we' pretend the wealth transferring system 'we' call health care continues, the medical FICO is a sign of things to come. After all, the FICO worked so well in the mortgage industry.

[Breeze54]

1. Not according to PBS... they're living much longer.

Did you see that PBS Frontline piece last night about aging in America?

Frontline - Living Old - http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/livingold/

and

Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick? In Sickness and in Wealth
I can't find the link. Maybe you'll have better luck.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/

[Warpy]

3. Here's the main website

http://www.unnaturalcauses.org/

The buggers didn't run it here, either. They probably thought that running "Bush's War" earlier this week was enough of a sop to Democrats so they could run rubbish the rest of the week. Instead of an informative look at the disgrace that is the US healthcare system, they chose to run a nature show on the Japanese brown bear.

[Summer93]

2. Longevity runs in the family

I have watched within my own family.

Great-Grandmother lived to 96 years - seamstress
Grandmother lived to 84 years - Organist/piano teacher
Mother lived to 76 years - Organist, Director level at nursing home

Now I question why each generation has a shorter lifespan. I do have an aunt who is now 92 years old.

Air pollution, stress, what is it?

[Lydia Leftcoast]

4. My grandmother lived to be 100 and was pretty lively till age 97, but

my mother is frail at 86. My siblings and in-laws and I have all noticed the difference.

When I look at it, I see two factors:

1) Psychological: the two of them shared a lot of attitudes, but my grandmother was by far friendlier and more adventurous and more optimistic.

2) Lack of exercise: Once my mom learned to drive at age 45, she never walked anywhere if she could help it. At an age only three years older than I am now, she couldn't walk more than a block with a 20-lb. bag of groceries. I had to carry both her bag and mine. (I was in my early thirties then.)

Both of them ate poorly, although my mom had more of a sweet tooth.

Taking them as object lessons, I'm doing my best to get out of the house every day (it would be easy to hole up, since I'm self-employed) and to exercise and eat right.

Since my father's side of the family aren't as long-lived (average age at death 77), who knows which genes I inherited? But whatever my life span is, I want to be what the Japanese call "pin-pin-korori" (active and lively until a sudden death or a sudden decline leading quickly to death) rather than end up like my mom.