Life Expectancy Drops For Some US Women

For the first time since the Spanish influenza of 1918, life expectancy is falling for a significant number of American women.

In nearly 1,000 counties that together are home to about 12 percent of the nation's women, life expectancy is now shorter than it was in the early 1980s, according to a study published today.

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[jake666]

Maybe if they didn't pump all that silicon in their chest, use toxic make-up and hair coloring and had a little discretion with their sex partners they would live longer. Maybe if they didn"t drive with their cell phone attached to their ear and drove with their seat belt on in the SUVs they also might live longer.

[democracydiva]

Folks, I hope you will look into single-payer healthcare. You can google SB 840 in CA or check out John Conyers bill for the whole US. These would take the issue of healthcare off the endangered species list. It is criminal that healthcare is even on the market place; you can't choose when you're going to be sick. This is good for women and men. Then we can deal with the other inequalities.

Learn about this so you can vote it in when it arrives on the ballot. For more info, see 'Sicko'. Thanks

[HeraOxEyes]

I agree that fast food consumption is a key factor in the decline of female health, but the opposite end of the spectrum is true also. Women are stressing their bodies with strenuous exercise and malnutrition, trying to be the current American ideal of beauty. I know that a lean diet and plenty of healthy exercise are good for you, but a lot of women take it too far... working their bodies too rigorously on too few calories... I see this trend leading to an even greater deterioration of female health in the future.

[HeraOxEyes]

Below emphasizes why many women feel the need to be purposely malnourished. No wonder the self confidence of women is always low.

[mrBlue1]

There ARE some things worse than death.

[Synoia]

Congratulations! The fast food industry has solved the Social Security and Medicare funding problems! Way to go with the market based systems.

Or, it's a testament to 30 years of Republican Public Health, for if the Government does not protect us against corporations, then WHO WILL? Corporation does continue advertising without the expectation and proof that advertising changes behavior, ergo the corporation advertise to change our habit and buy their products.

Who's mission is it to protect us from harmful products? Government. Government of the people by the people for the people.

[MalloMel]

I strongly feel that women should be equal to men, although I realize that it is nature that made them unequal. Just look at most animals and you'll see what I mean. But, equal means just that... equal.

The higher death rate comes with the male territory. I really don't mean to be insensitive, but facts are facts.

Another thing: Just look at how our kids are turning out. That is a direct result of women leaving the home. I do not fault them for this... I cannot fault someone for wanting to be free. I just recognize it for what it is.

No matter how hard we push against the outcome of women's lib, it's going to take some time to work itself out. It's called evolution, and evolution takes time, whether we want to acknowledge it or not.. I'm talking quite a few generations here. In the meantime, we have to suffer the consequences and make the best of it. Good luck and buckle up!

[democracydiva]

Let's talk equal: equal pay, no glass ceilings, equal child care and child disciplining and then we'll see what happens.

The society that mostly white men have put together ain't so wonderful. Men's death rate is higher and male suicide rates after age 45 skyrockets. That dangerous male ego has got to be on top or else it's suicide - very sad.

I hope evolution brings a less hierarchical, competitive arrangement. No wonder there's so much isolation, alienation and suicide.

[jake666]

"Men's death rate is higher and male suicide rates"

Maybe that's the only way left to get away from the cow.


They find that babe's body in Aruba yet??

[HeraOxEyes]

Still single, aren't you, Pumpkin?

[andyboy]

It's because of how great our healthcare is. We must protect the sanctity of our healthcare system and also of marriage. This really rich straight insurance guy told me so.

[Nyland8]

Clearly these women must be suffering from a drug deficiency. I'm sure the pharmaceutical industry has all the answers to their problems.

8

[Erdgeist]

I would argue that meat consumption is up in women because they are working more and fast food is cheap. In major studies there is a positive correlation between very low meat intake and significant decrease in risk of death. http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/78/3/526S

[jake666]

So, what's the downside?

[BeastOfYuccaFlats]

What kind of hateful remark is that? I pity the women in your life, if there are any.

[jake666]

After years of women driving men to an early grave I just think turnabout is fair play.

[BeastOfYuccaFlats]

This is not a case of "turnabout is fair play." Men are not driving women to earlier graves; lack of access to health care is driving _everybody_ to earlier graves, including misogynist pigs like you.

[liveandlearn]

my mother works harder than i do. and she's 89. maybe i'll live only to 85. i spend too much time sitting at my computer pontificating on blogs.

[lippp]

The fact is Life Expectancy in America is lower than most European Countries. So while this survey targets women, sadly we all are negatively affected by poor healthcare and a capitalistic system unchecked allowing for major corporations to push high fat, high carb and high sodium food on a gulliable population. Add in increase stress due to lower paying jobs while living expenses increase and we have a perscription for an increase in the decrease of living longer - and living considerably less unhealthy.

[democracydiva]

You have control over what you eat and stress also if you'll pull yourself away from pervasive media. The corporations are a tougher task; don't buy their stuff. And of course healthcare needs to be revamped; support single payer systems like in the movie "Sicko". Our healthcare system now is criminal.

[batgirlevi]

Must be the ciggies.

: p

[loril]

Some are gleefully pointing out that, as soon as women got access to decent jobs, they started to die off. Guess that'll show us! It would be MUCH healthier for almost all women to be shoehorned into just one role (housewife/mother) whether they desired to be or not (and without birth control.) Ah. The good old days. I am nostalgic and I feel I was born in the wrong time. (I am not a bad housewife, actually.) But the past won't solve everything. There were other pressures then.

I DO agree that women are deluded into thinking that they have to do it all. This is exhausting, both physically and emotionally. So the alphas love to be busy all the time and sleep 3 hours a night while bragging about how much they are always "accomplishing". Meanwhlle they are stressing at home/job and probably dropping the ball in both roles more than they realize.

I believe in sequencing life. I had a career. Now I have a kid. I will work again...probably until I resemble the woman in the photo above. But I might never have a "career" again. I will have "jobs" -- ones that allow me family time and that are located close to home. I know I am not cut out for the "have it all/do it all" life. I'll suffer financially. But I will hopefully enjoy life more and have a few more years of it.

[MalloMel]

"Some are gleefully pointing out that, as soon as women got access to decent jobs, they started to die off." I'm not anti-woman, but facts are facts. I guess you have to take the bad with the good.

[Zeje]

The lower life expectancy affects poor women in Appalachia and the South -- not the alpha women.

[BeastOfYuccaFlats]

Exactly. "Alpha" women generally have good health insurance. Poor women don't have _any_ health insurance and are dying earlier as a direct result.

[GravitonX]

Women have been picking up our worst habits. It's the double-edged sword of feminism, that old feminism that Hillary and her generation believe. Most modern women reject that type of silly feminism and take the best of women and men and reject the worst.

[jsomerville5]

For several years, women had been taking up smoking at a higher rate than men. Don't know what the latest stats on this are.

[TocinoHumano]

Wow, even in a thread about women's health issues someone finds a way to take a shot at Hillary Clinton. Barack Obama was right: Silly Season has begun!

[mensa999]

As women we carry a greater burden. Prior to the revolution of the 60's, most women stayed home and looked after their children. We were more focused. Fast forward to now and we're caught in the middle of trying to do it all. We just can't. We were not made to multi-task at multi-tasking! Stress is a HUGE factor in our declining health. We can learn from our former sisters and try to plan better our choices in the future. Reduce the debt we incur before starting a family. Instead of saving for that big wedding, we need to open up a health insurance savings account and demand incentives from banks for doing so. We need to except our power and learn that less is more. We need to eliminate process foods from our diets. We need to learn that FDA approved drugs are not cures. We basically need to use the philosophy of moderation. Everything in our lives needs moderation from our credit use, food, activities (such as soccer, gymnastics, ballet, hockey, cheer leading, going to school full time and working two jobs, exercising and the list goes on. We have to stop and breath and ask ourselves do we really need to do all of this? I have to say I have learned from my older friends what not to do and I thank them everyday for their wonderful advice.

[MalloMel]

If you want to live linger, what you need to do is get back in the home, but you're not going to do that. Things have moved on since then. All I can say is "welcome to the fray".

[rbspickles]

Oh yeah, kinda like those women in Texas? I would much rather live a year less and have my own job, money and power than live that extra year under some chauvenists thumb saying "I pay your way in this world so you will do as I say." Nope, never again. You men just aren't worth it.

[darcy]

I agree, pickles, but the problem isn't work. It's overeating.

[Trilby]

What's with the dried-apple-head lady illustrating an article about US women?

[democracydiva]

Yeah, they had to get some sour looking dame to approximate feminism because all the beauty queens don't need health insurance or good jobs.

[geobushono]

Drag the repugs out of their houses and execute them at the curb.
THEN maybe we can have universal healthcare.

[WorkingClass]

Good idea. The article points out the death rates are rising among *poor* women but doesn't mention decreasing access to health care.

[Periwinkle]

Well, I'm an older woman who has worked hard all my life and I haven't been able to afford health insurance for the past 3 years. I've weathered a number of problems during that time, including a life-threatening bout of pancreatitis. The gastroenterologist I consulted for the latter was about to admit me to intensive care, then decided, on hearing of the lack of health insurance, that maybe I could weather the illness at home. After 2 blood tests to determine I wasn't at death's immediate door, I went home to my bed and spent 2 weeks with a heating pad over my left side chewing Vicodin hoarded from a previous dental procedure. Let's hear it for America, the greatest country on earth.

[democracydiva]

This damn criminal healthcare system doesn't want to deal with anyone with actual health issues which would cut into profits. Sorry to hear of your plight.

[darcy]

Periwinkle, you were probably better off at home!

[PhillyQuaker]

Peri, I am very sorry to hear you had to go through all that.

[Gary47]

Nice job attaining some equality with the men. Too bad one of the expressions turned out to be equality of stupid choices.

[MalloMel]

I strongly feel that women should be equal to men, although I realize that it is nature that made them unequal. Just look at most animals and you'll see what I mean. But, equal means just that... equal.

If that means a higher death rate, then t