As someone who grew up in the North and spent a bit of time in the deep South, I think the main difference is food. Down South every gas station had fried foods at the ready. Not gonna deny it wasn't good, but the abundance of "bad" food on the go cheap doesn't bode a healthy lifestyle.
The 20-year life expectancy gap inside the United States
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Diet? No emperical evidence but could be people in the blue areas have more access to high quality soylent green. Sorta hard to come by down here in the south sticks.
If you look at the map there are little blue patches around Raleigh, Birmingham, Atlanta, Charlotte, Hilton head. Places with higher incomes/diet and better access to healthcare.
In rural areas here addiction/ abuse is common.
In rural areas here addiction/ abuse is common.
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It's the sweet tea effect.
By sweet tea, I mean southern sweet tea made with 2+ cups of sugar per gallon. If you've lived in the south, you know how sweet this is. Hence why the snowbirds skew the data in Florida as compared to the rest of the south.
By sweet tea, I mean southern sweet tea made with 2+ cups of sugar per gallon. If you've lived in the south, you know how sweet this is. Hence why the snowbirds skew the data in Florida as compared to the rest of the south.
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One thing that needs to be noted with data like this are untimely deaths of young people from accidents and substance abuse. Which varies regionally.
Along with the correlation between Income and health. Which isn't usually about access to healthcare as much as it is the type of people that are making choices while living in poverty. In aggregate of course
Couple that with genetic difference between the delta region and the northern states and about umpteen other variables such as smoking, meat consumption , sat fat intake, .... And you have quite a spread.
Along with the correlation between Income and health. Which isn't usually about access to healthcare as much as it is the type of people that are making choices while living in poverty. In aggregate of course
Couple that with genetic difference between the delta region and the northern states and about umpteen other variables such as smoking, meat consumption , sat fat intake, .... And you have quite a spread.
Diabeatus central
Here in central Massachusetts there is a very large population of educated, wealthy, consistently employed people who exercise, eat well, and have access/utilize world-class health care.
In my own circles, there are very few overweight people, I don't know a single person who smokes, and I'm more likely to run into these people at the gym than I am at the bar.
It ain't this way everywhere in Murica.
In my own circles, there are very few overweight people, I don't know a single person who smokes, and I'm more likely to run into these people at the gym than I am at the bar.
It ain't this way everywhere in Murica.
Exactly the same. You can see my county in the very NW corner of said map
4wd
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I wonder how many in Florida moved in and retired there ?
I think this is the key, along with bad diets as already mentioned. The meth and oxycodone epidemics have been disproportionately rural. Also, the areas with lower life-expectancy figures are known for smoking and alcohol abuse.
Both of my parents died in their 60s. Both smoked and did not take good care of themselves in other ways.
Owen Lucas
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Might as well be a map of self control and obesity prone genetics.
No you don't have to be rich to be smart.
People lift themselves out of poverty everyday.
It takes will power, like the kind that keeps you from eating poorly. If you can't master that, you're gonna die sooner than later.
Also having a child before you can start a career is life altering, so yeah, it comes down to brain power IMHO and a dose of genetics.
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I vote diet.
I think anything else is an excuse
This and maybe people thinking going to work or a little walking is exercising. And stress so we can accommodate Hawaii
Last night my wife asked me what I want for dinner this week. I immediately said cioppino - Italian seafood stew. She went out this morning for ingredients which included mussels, clams, scallops, halibut, shrimp, and salmon in a garlic tomato stew broth. It was absolutely delicious and about as healthy as you can get. It was also (we added it up) $60 worth of ingredients. Now she made a lot of it and we will be eating leftovers for a few days, but it's not lost on me that my dinner, the epitome of the healthy Mediterranean diet, was still $60.
Of course, no one has to spend $60 on a homemade dinner for it to be healthy, but I do think eating healthier food is easier when you have more disposable income and a stay at home wife who can literally spend her day making dinner. As I said, it was DELICIOUS!
I love Italian seafood stew.
I lived with a rural family in Virginia for one year in high school. I ate the same thing they ate and while I lost weight, they gained.
They eat sugary cereal for breakfast, school lunch for lunch (teacher parents), potato chips and ice cream for afternoon snacks, and boiled corn and broccoli with the same amount of salted butter, and oven baked chicken nuggets plus instant white rice for dinner. After dinner there would be Mountain Dew or ice cream with whip cream and syrup. I can't stand having that much butter in my diet and I am not used to eating that much chicken nuggets, and I think instant rice is wrong growing up eating rice cooker made ones fresh. Ice cream and soda were cool for the first month but afterward I was kind of sick of it, I also started to dislike potato chips and butter. I think my BMI went from 30 down to 18 in one year living with them.
30 years later they were still eating the same, maybe improved to a home made pizza instead of chicken nuggets, but the Mountain Dew addicted father of the family passed away with cancer before 70. I think their sons aged horribly compare to me, despite me being 10 years older. I'm sure genetics have something to do with it but that doesn't help their diets would be what I called junk food today and avoid.
Cue lentils, a great example of getting excellent nutrition at minimal cost. I'm convinced anyone blaming finances for not eating healthy, although it can certainly be a contributing factor, does not want to admit that they aren't really willing to make the choice to buy and eat differently.
Listen, I get it. I hate lentils, but I love 30-day dry aged wagyu steak. Wait...I don't think that make the point I hoped it would.
I agree...there are reasonably priced heathy foods.
Owen Lucas
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Eating healthy can be cheap but sur eis not tasty, until you add the butter and salt etc.
I make lentil soup all the time, keep it in the freezer. No salt added, enough garlic, onions, and bay leaves have enough flavor for me. It's still not tomato basil soup but it fills you up with fiber andis one of the healthiest foods around.
Just make sure to sort the lentils on the counter very closely and with a flashlight, I've caught small pebbles before!
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