HHS STATEMENT ON GOOD HEALTH FOR THOSE OVER 65

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES 
Long healthy life?
From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

A study indicates that how many of your remaining years will be healthy as a senior citizen varies according to who you are and where you live.

Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention looked at national health data on the number of years after age 65 that people had good health. The CDC’s Man-Huei Chang:

“Across all of the states, healthy life expectancy was about 14 years, on the average.”

Mississippians averaged the fewest healthy years after they turned 65, and Hawaiians averaged the most. State by state, men consistently averaged fewer years than women. Blacks fairly consistently had fewer healthy years than whites.

Healthy living habits, such as not smoking, reduce the odds that people die early.

The study was in CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Learn more at healthfinder.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.