We’ve all heard of the mythical “Fountain of Youth,” but a recent study has shown that there are environments that actually can promote longevity of life! Specifically a few places in America that may just be the key to a higher life expectancy.
In addition to finding out the highest average ages people live until, researchers looked into the reasons certain locations have the oldest expected lifespans.
Dan Buettner has made a career out of studying lifespans around the world. Buettner has found that individual lifestyle habits and environment are linked to longevity of life. For example, if everyone in your neighborhood is eating fast food for dinner, you’re more likely to pick up some fast food for yourself. On the flip side, if everyone around you is bonding over vegetable recipes, you’ll probably get in on those trends also.
In the United States, the average lifespan is around 77 years old. There are ten counties with a higher life expectancy and New Mexico made the list!
Here are the United States counties in which people tend to live the longest in America:
1. Summit County, Colorado: 86.8 years
2. Billings County, North Dakota: 84 years
3. Marin County, California: 83.8 years
4. Fairfax County, Virginia: 83.7 years
5. Aleutians East Borough, Alaska: 83.7 years
6. Presidio County, Texas 83.7 years
7. San Juan County, Washington: 83.7 years
8. Los Alamos County, New Mexico: 83.5 years
9. Teton County, Wyoming: 83.5 years
10. Collier County, Florida: 83.4 years
So how did Los Alamos County make the cut? Researchers found that the overall health of the residents in that county average 85 on a scale of 100 for health practices. This is a result of a healthier, more active lifestyle among residents.
The findings about Los Alamos County led to research in the other counties of New Mexico, including Roosevelt County.
Roosevelt County has an average percentage of obesity that is lower than the national average and other parts of the state. This is a direct result of the majority of the population in Roosevelt County having access to grocery stores and farmer’s markets that provide a variety of healthy options. This is all thanks to our local farmers for providing these benefits to the county.
The adequacy of the the fruit/vegetable consumption in the area is higher than that of any other county in the entire state, and most of the nation. Only 33.9% of the population consumes an inadequate amount of their necessary fruit & vegetable intake, which is nearly 5% lower than the national and state averages.
So, while Los Alamos may have made this particular top 10 list of places that promote longevity of life, studies show Roosevelt County has the potential to have its own key to longevity if the area resources are utilized.
There may not be an actual fountain of youth, but with the right resources and lifestyle choices, a long, healthy life is attainable in any county in the United States.
If you ask what is the single most important key to longevity, I would have to say it is avoiding worry, stress and tension. And if you didn’t ask me, I’d still have to say it.
– George Burns
