Believe it or not, (some of) you are living longer
You might think those accumulated hours waiting for the subway and the stress of elbowing your way through crowds would take years off your life – but you would be wrong.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg said today that the life expectancy for New Yorkers is at a record high — locals should live until nearly 81 years.
This is 2.2 years higher than the national average of 78.7 years, he and Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley announced.
Those most benefiting are the youngest – the babies born in 2010 are the ones given the record high estimate of 80.9 years.
However, New Yorkers at age 20 and 30 don’t receive an estimate that stretches into the 80s – according to the Health Department, life expectancy at 20 was 61.6 years, and for 30, 51.9 years.
The life expectancy for 40-year-olds – about the average age of New Yorkers, according to the Health Department – also increased, to 82.3 years, and life expectancy for a 70-year-old is 87. Each of those estimates are longer than national trends.
That predicted life span is longer than the record-breaking 80.9 years. Health Department spokeswoman Chanel Caraway said the longer someone lives, the higher the life expectancy they are afforded, because they have already made it to 40, or 70.
The mayor said that his passionately pushed health interventions, like blocking smoking and adding HIV testing, contributed to the increase.
Bloomberg’s latest health initiative was banning sugary sodas larger than 16 ounces, which the Board of Health approved in September. The ban takes place in March.
Added Farley, “New York City is increasingly a healthy place in which to live, work and raise a family.”
