Do US presidents age faster than ordinary people?

By Lee Ha-na

A U.S. president is only one out of the planet’s 7 billion people and happens to have one of the most stressful jobs, which is why many believe American presidents age faster and die younger than ordinary people.

Researchers have performed studies to investigate the cases of past U.S. presidents to see if they do, in fact, age at a faster rate than the citizens of their country.

Jay Olshansky, a University of Illinois at Chicago professor, stated that this is a false assumption. He conducted research into the life expectancy of U.S. presidents, with results that do not show that American presidents meet their death earlier in life than do ordinary American males. Surprisingly, most have outlived the life expectancies of their time. The studies are published in the recent issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

According to his analysis, 23 of 34 presidents who died of natural causes lived longer than men of the same age at the time of their elections. Olshansky did not include presidents who were assassinated (Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley, Kennedy) or the presidents who are still alive (Carter, both Bushes, Clinton, Obama).

The 34 presidents included in the study had an average age of 78 when they died, which means they lived 11 years more than the average life expectancy of 67. Seven of the first eight presidents had life spans averaging 81.5 years.

The professor explains in his article why American presidents might live such long lives. All deceased presidents, minus 10, were very privileged people: they were rich and college educated. Not to mention, they had access to top-notch health care available. Thus, socio-economic status was very influential in the life spans of these men.

Dr. Howard Friedman wrote a book with Dr. Leslie Martin called The Longevity Project, which consists of studies in psychology aimed at finding out who lives the longest lives and why.

And the answer?

Friedman says, “Those who advanced steadily in their challenging careers, and had the power to make things happen, were helped, not harmed, by the stresses. In fact, many of those who worked the hardest lived the longest.”

So yes, Obama may be sporting a few more gray hairs, but this does not mean he is doomed to an early demise. The 50-year-old president is estimated to live to at least 82, according to Olshansky’s studies. 


http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/special/2011/12/182_100641.html