by Playfuls Staff |
12th September 2006
Residents in the seat of US power have the lowest life expectancy of any city in the country, and would be best off moving to Hawaii, a study found Tuesday.
Washington's [more] busy workers on average reach an age of 72, compared to 80 for Hawaii, the study by Harvard University said, pointing to data gathered from 1982 to 2001.
But the cause has less to do with income or living standards than with the prevention and treatment of chronic illnesses already developed at a young or middle age, including heart and lung problems and cancer, the study found.
US life expectancy in general has risen to 77.9 nationwide in 2004. Taking other factors into account - sex, ethnicity, and region - the best life chances are for a woman of Asian origin in northern New Jersey. They live an average of 91 years.
On the other end were American Indians in the mid-western state of South Dakota, who lived an average of 58 years. Sioux Indians in Iowa, however, lived until 81.3 years old, the study said.
© 2006 DPA
