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Your Neighborhood, Your Life Expectancy

2017-05-09 · explainer · John · 3:37 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Health (also: US politics & society) · mode: News analysis · tags: timely hook

Citing new research, John argues that an American's zip code can affect life expectancy more than smoking or exercise, that the gap is driven by poverty, access to care and other factors, and that its growth in the US, unlike in most rich countries, is not natural and is deeply wrong.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Zip code predicts US life expectancy by up to 20 years; Indianapolis example versus smoking and exercise

  • ★★★ John says that for Americans one data point, the zip code, can affect life expectancy more than smoking, annual physicals or regular exercise. — 00:00:00
  • ★★★ John says that in the US a zip code can affect life expectancy by 20 years. — 00:00:17 · United States
  • ★★★ John says recent research shows the gap between the healthiest and the sickest communities is getting bigger. — 00:00:21 · health equity
  • ★★★ John says life expectancy in his Indianapolis zip code is around 80, slightly above the US average; three miles north it is 83.7, three miles south 69.4. — 00:00:27 · Indianapolis, United States
  • ★★ John says that on average US non-smokers live about 10 years longer than smokers. — 00:00:45
  • ★★ John says people who exercise regularly live about 4.5 years longer than those who don't. — 00:00:51
  • ★★ John says living three miles north or south of his house changes life expectancy by 14 years. — 00:00:55 · Indianapolis

00:00:58 — Tangent: the math of extra years from exercise; life expectancy is an average, not an individual fate

  • ★ In a tangent John calculates that, with 2.5 hours of exercise a week from age 16, about one extra year goes to exercising and 1.5 to sleeping, leaving basically two. (playful, hedged) — 00:01:00
  • ★★ John notes life expectancy is an average: neither exercise nor a zip code fixes an individual's fate, but on average geography has a huge impact on American health and longevity. — 00:01:18 · United States

00:01:42 — Causes of the gap (tobacco, poverty, doctors, food, insurance, activity) and the rise in the US versus decline in Canada and other rich countries

  • ★★ John says the causes are complicated: eastern Kentucky communities with life expectancy under 70 smoke more than central Colorado ones above 85, but are also poorer with fewer doctors. — 00:01:44
  • ★★ John says low life expectancy communities have less healthy food, more uninsured people and more diabetes and hypertension, while the healthiest tend to be rich with excellent health care. — 00:01:58 · economic inequality
  • ★ John says the highest life expectancy zip codes tend to have lots of physical activity, like Colorado ski resorts or wealthy California beach towns. — 00:02:13
  • ★★★ John says growing within-country inequality of life expectancy is not the norm: it has risen steadily in the US since 1980 but declined in most other rich countries. — 00:02:23 · health equity, United States
  • ★★ John says Canada's significant decline in the gap is a main reason its overall life expectancy beats the US, though the richest 20% of Americans outlive the richest 20% of Canadians. — 00:02:40 · Canada, United States

00:02:53 — Side note on critiques of life expectancy as a metric

  • ★ John notes many people criticise life expectancy as a health metric, especially across countries, with good reasons, but says this data is mostly exempt from those critiques. — 00:02:53

00:03:05 — The growing gap is not normal or natural and is wrong; life comes before liberty in the Declaration; bonus video announced

  • ★★★ John says the growing life expectancy discrepancy is not normal or natural; we need not accept lifespan varying by where you live, yet in the US it is getting worse. — 00:03:05 · health equity, United States
  • ★★★ John finds this deeply wrong: the Declaration of Independence names three inalienable rights, and before liberty and the pursuit of happiness comes life. (hedged) — 00:03:18
  • ★ John corrects his sign-off: he will see Hank tomorrow for a surprise bonus vlogbrothers video, then on Friday. — 00:03:29 · Vlogbrothers

In the description and comments

  • ★★ John cites a study of life expectancy variation within countries over time: in most rich nations, such as Canada, Germany and Australia, it has declined since 1980 while rising steadily in the US, and the highest-income Americans live very slightly longer than high-income Canadians. — video description · Canada, Australia, United States
  • ★★ John recommends the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's app that gives your life expectancy based on your ZIP code. — video description
  • ★★ Pointing to Aaron Carroll of Healthcare Triage, John explains that factors like miscarriages and newborn deaths vary life expectancy mostly between countries, not within them, and that complaints such as violence and accident rates do not explain the US geographic gap. — video description · United States
  • ★★★ John sums up that the longevity gap between rich and poor in the US is real and very high by international standards. — video description · health equity, economic inequality, United States

Threads in this video

Mentioned

Central: health equity · life expectancy · ZIP Code

Also: Works: United States Declaration of Independence

Organizations: United States Postal Service

Concepts: diabetes · economic inequality · health insurance · hypertension · physical exercise · tobacco smoking

Places: California · Canada · Colorado · Indianapolis · Kentucky · United States

Only in the description or credits: Aaron Carroll · Australia · Germany · Healthcare Triage · Inequalities in Life Expectancy among U.S. Counties · Robert Wood Johnson Foundation · The Incidental Economist

Also centred on life expectancy: When Will You Die? · Seven Maps to Better Understand the World · Most People Have Never Been 20 · The Life Expectancy Lies That Won't Die

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