Longevity

I was in a grocery store the other day, in a check out line, and saw something unusual. Ahead of me in the check-out line was an elderly woman with a few items. She pulled money form her purse and carefully checked to see that the cashier gave her the correct change. I was amused that she was so intent on tracking her change and after she slowly pushed her grocery cart away and out to her car I jokingly told the cashier, "Well, she made sure you didn't steal from her. What a nice thing to see her so alert and functioning. She must be almost 90 years old." He quickly retorted , "No, she's 104 years old".

I was stunned, a 104 year old who, according to the cashier, makes frequent trips alone in her car to shop for herself. It was cause for reflection, apart from genetics, as to why some people age so slowly and some so fast. Since moving to Oregon that question comes up more frequently, as I read in the newspaper obituary column each day of a multitude of 90 year old plus, often a plus 10 appears too, people listed. There seems to be a some fountain of youth here, as people live much longer and live with more parts functioning longer than elsewhere.

Perhaps it is the great climate, which is neither extreme in heat and humidity or cold. Then there is the hiking and walking mentality in (often up hill in mountainous Oregon, that surely must help the heart and lungs and keep it younger. yet the diet here is not very healthy. Portland appears to be fast food heaven, in copious quantities too. Yet, perhaps the very old avoid that diet and live a healthy lifestyle that promotes what I saw in the form of that elderly, yet "young" shopper the other day.

And what part does stress and attitude play in longevity of life? I think this area, like New Orleans is quite laid back. The ambitious person often fleas Oregon, for ambition is not seen as dear in Oregon. Ergo, there is less stress among the population. The lack of stress is supposedly a key factor in longevity. It makes sense. So I decided to check records to see if Oregonians really do live longer than most other state residents. What I found was that Oregon has the 7th best longevity ratio among the 50 U.S. states.

Here is the list of top 10 U.S. states where people live the longest:
1. Hawaii with an age expectancy of 91.98 years
2. Colorado with an age expectancy of 91.76 years
3. New Mexico with an age expectancy of 91.60 years
4. California with an age expectancy of 91.55 years
5. Arizona with an age expectancy of 91.39 years
6. Vermont with an age expectancy of 91.38 years
7. Oregon with an age expectancy of 91.36 years
8. Washington with an age expectancy of 91.30 years
9. Idaho with an age expectancy of 91.15 years
10. Minnesota with an age expectancy of 91.15 years

See a trend among those places? Well, all except California (with the northern part of California being the exception and far more like the rest of the states) is more lightly populated and unpolluted. And all except California lack large minority populations, whose members have a high mortality rate from crime activities, drug abuse and poor health habits. Other than that I am not sure why ages are higher in those states. Personal history, lifestyle, nutrition, medical and family history are usually the factors controlling this statistic.

And what about longevity in my former state of Louisiana? It rakes 3rd from the bottom in longevity. But I must say, they sure have a whole lot more fun in New Orleans than those other places. .