Life expectancy in Illinois drops to 76.8 years

[January 21, 2023]  By Zeta Cross | The Center Square contributor

(The Center Square) – When it comes to life expectancy, Illinois residents are in the middle of the pack.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found the average lifespan in Illinois is 76.8 years. Illinois residents rank with people in Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania and Montana in the mid-range of states for life expectancy.

Americans who live the longest live in Hawaii and Utah, where life expectancy is 80 years and 78.8 years, respectively.

Hawaiians say they have less stress and are happier. Professor S. Jay Olshansky of the School of Public Health at the University of Illinois-Chicago attributes Hawaiian longevity to Hawaii's large percentage of people of Japanese descent, who eat low-fat diets and have good genes. Japan is one of the top countries in the world for long lifespans.

In Utah, Olshansky said, the Mormon population tends to stay away from smoking and drinking alcohol.

“Both of those are risk factors for a range of diseases that appear at later ages,” Olshansky told The Center Square.

Some blame can be placed on COVID-19 for the dramatic lowering of life expectancy across the world in the past two years, Olshansky said.

In 2019, the average person in Illinois was expected to live to 79 years. Because of COVID and the complications it presented, life expectancy in Illinois dropped over two years.

“During COVID, people who should have gone in for health checkups and surgical procedures did not go. People did not monitor their health as carefully as they normally would have,” he said.

 

The hope is that life expectancy will eventually rebound the way it did 100 years ago following the 1918 Spanish Influenza epidemic.

“Because of the unpredictable nature of COVID, we just don’t know what is going to happen,” Olshansky said.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in Illinois, the CDC says. That is followed by cancer, COVID and strokes.

There are things people can do to live longer.

“Lose weight and exercise,” Olshansky said.
 

One of the most common risk factors for lower life expectancy in the past 20 years is obesity.

“Obesity has gone through the roof not only in Illinois, but in other parts of the world as well,” Olshansky said.

One-third of Illinois children ages 10 to 17 are now overweight or obese, the Illinois Department of Health said. Overweight children are at a much higher risk for developing heart disease and diabetes. And, for the first time in history, Illinois children are less likely to outlive their parents.

“One critical way to have a powerful influence on health and longevity in Illinois is to influence the healthy eating habits of our children,” Olshansky said.

When it comes to risk factors that we can control, “exercise has magical powers,” Olshansky maintains.

Exercise goes a long way to influence the consequences of stress. It helps people sleep better.

“Exercise has an immediate, positive effect on the vast majority of people that use it, whether the person is 100 years old or 20 years old,” he said.

While there is no fountain of youth, if there is any equivalent, it is exercise, Olshansky said.