RealAge is all about lifestyle
Published 12:01 am Tuesday, April 26, 2011
So you want to do all you can to live to a ripe old age? Move to Salt Lake City, Utah.
Where will you feel old before your time? Tulsa, Okla.
Each city earns its ranking by how people live in the respective metro areas, says Dr. Keith Roach, chief medical officer of the health and medi
cal information website RealAge.com, and represents an assessment of the 27 million-plus people who have checked their health on the site.
Roach says a random sample of 1,000 RealAge members drawn from the 50 largest metropolitan areas — with the data adjusted for age differences — was used to determine the metro area’s “age.”
Based on the data, the “youngest” 10 cities are Salt Lake City; San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose; Austin, Texas; Denver; Boston; Washington/Baltimore; San Diego; Raleigh-Durham/Chapel Hill, N.C.; Minneapolis/St. Paul; and Seattle/Tacoma/Bremerton.
What makes a city younger? Roach says there are three primary aspects: getting the right amount of sleep, not smoking and controlling blood pressure.
RealAge checks residents’ data for information on aspirin (one a day keeps blood pressure lower); alcohol consumption; cholesterol; exercise; hypertension; sleep patterns; smoking; income; marital status (healthier for men); and employment.
And the RealAge study shows the 10 “oldest” cities are Knoxville, Tenn.; Greensboro/Winston-Salem/High Point, N.C.; Nashville, Tenn.; Saginaw/Bay City/Midland, Mich; Cincinnati; Tampa/St. Petersburg, Fla.; Oklahoma City; Las Vegas; Jacksonville, Fla.; and Tulsa, Okla.
Roach answered a few queries.
Q. You say that aspirin and alcohol also are factors?
A. Aspirin for most men over 45 and women over 55 helps prevent heart attack and stroke when used daily. Half a glass of wine with dinner also lowers heart attack risk. But accidents and cancer increase the risk of death if you have more than two drinks daily.
Q. But your results are based on people who took the RealAge test online. Aren’t they by nature more interested in health?
A. Yes, but still we were surprised there is such a big spread, between six months and two years between most cities. But you need to go to RealAge.com to figure out your own real age and get suggestions for improving your health.
Q. What helps people live longer?
A. The single thing that has gotten more people to live longer is clean water. That and a good sewer system. Those are the two greatest advancements in medical history.
In the past 50 years, we have shown how medical care can improve, that is true. And genes are important.
But to live longer, live a healthier lifestyle, a good diet, exercise and an aspirin a day. That will dramatically improve your lifestyle.
Q. Doesn’t really matter that much where we live then, does it?
A. Well, there seems to be something special about those western states. But in the long run, your lifestyle is your choice.
Q. I am surprised that Los Angeles/Orange County ranks 25th on your study.
A. I know. A lot of people in this area don’t smoke at all and there is a culture against secondhand smoke. But the area does some things well and some things poorly. West Coast and mountain states do tend to be the healthiest areas, however.
