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Subscribe to RSSMen are catching up with women in the longevity sweepstakes, according to a new analysis of census data, which show that the U.S. is the oldest it's ever been.
The population of Americans ages 65 and older increased by 15.1 percent from 2000 to 2010, far outpacing population growth as a whole, at 9.7 percent, according to the data, which were released this week.
One of every 7.6 Americans, or 13 percent, is now in that group, the highest ratio the census has recorded since it began collecting age data in 1790.
While men and women alike are living longer, men are closing the gap in the historical lead women have had. Twenty years ago, there were 83 men for every 100 women ages 65 and older; now there are 90.5 men.
Read the entire census report (.pdf)
Carrie Werner, the statistician who compiled the analysis, said the data "will provide some unique challenges for the data users."
Your odds of reaching 90 keep getting better
They're more like a "whack over the head with a 2-by-4," said Paul Downey, president and chief executive of Senior Community Centers, which offers senior services to low-income residents in the San Diego area.
"This should be a wake-up call for our elected officials to start focusing on aging policy now," Downey told NBCSanDiego.com. "Otherwise, we'll be dealing with it in crisis mode."
Downey said the numbers raise a red flag for the solvency of Social Security solvency, which he said will rely on a smaller proportion of the population to provide funds for a growing population of seniors.
"We risk people falling through the cracks," Downey said. "We need to acknowledge now that we are a graying nation."
Who lives where
As you might expect, given its reputation as a retirement haven, Florida is the oldest state, with 17.3 percent of its 19 million residents 65 or older, according to msnbc.com's analysis of the data, which didn't rank the states.
Aging in place: Most in U.S. want to stay put
But there are some surprises at the top of the list. For example, the cold-weather states of Maine (15.9 percent) and Pennsylvania (15.4 percent) are third and fourth, a reflection of the Northeastern U.S.'s status as the region with the highest percentage of older residents.
The 10 oldest states, with the percentage of their populations 65 and older:
1. Florida 17.3
2. West Virginia 16.0
3. Maine 15.9
4. Pennsylvania 15.4
5. Iowa 14.9
6. Montana 14.8
7. Vermont 14.6
8. North Dakota 14.5
9. Rhode Island 14.4
Tie Arkansas 14.4
Tie Delaware 14.4
Other arthritis-friendly states popularly considered to be retiree magnets didn't crack the top of the list. Hawaii did make it to a tie for 12th, with an older population of 14.3 percent, but Arizona was all the way down in a tie for 19th (13.8 percent).
By region:
1. Northeast 14.1
2. Midwest 13.5
3. South 13.0
4. West 11.9
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Leave a Comment:
Wow. Boy oh boy. None of you know your history, do you? Didn't you know that up until about 80 years ago, women died much sooner than men? Didn't you know that women died from childbirth, disease, malnourishment etc. before men? The fact that women live longer than men is a modern phenomena, really only in the last 60 years or so. Did any of you know that men routinely re-married after their women died in the "good old days"? Hmmm 2 or three times. These days, because of modern medicine, women live longer, so now we divorce. Particulary men, who want young women. Huh. I am so unimpressed!
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This goes hand in hand with studies about women replacing men in the workforce. Stress kills. When women overtake the number of men in the workforce, men will eventually be living longer.
Women's bodies are made to handle psychical and mental stress a lot moreso than the male body, funny how that works. The female body is a lot more complicated, but seemingly a lot more healthier in the long run ;-)
Men are living longer because most men in this country act like women....there are few REAL men anymore.
I figure all four of my ex-wives will still outlive me even with this new information........................
People are living longer because of the anti smoking laws in place that make smoking unaffordable and banned everywhere from being inside. That and some medical advances and now people live longer.
So don't cry when no one has money because everyone has to put half their check unto taking care of the elderly.
It would be cruel not to and have them starve to death.
My question is what type of quality of life do the elderly have? Maybe they should be put down at a certain age if they are deemed not to have a quality of life? Are we heading in that direction?
Maybe we should roll back the tobacco laws and watch them die off in droves.
I am sure Grandma and Grandpa would just love that.
Wow! I am incredibly impressed with the displays of ignorance on both ends of the table, mostly the men. For one thing -- I find it so funny that most of you find "the stress of working" as a leading factor as to why women out live men, might I add this small tid-bit: Women not only are working full-time jobs at a lesser pay rate with equal value in their work efforts in comparison to the male working that same position, but she is also going home to tend to her home, her husband and cook, as this is the traditional role women tend to take on while working AND being a Mother in today's day and age, I really can't say I have ever met a man busier than a working Mother.
Let's keep away from that thought, because the FACTS are more psychical than they have ANYTHING to do with life-style.
So for all those men out there who feel a little disheartened by the fact that a women psychically will out-live them, here's the total fact behind that:
One important reason is the big delay — and advantage — women have over men in terms of cardiovascular disease, like heart attack and stroke. Women develop these problems usually in their 70s and 80s, about 10 years later than men, who develop them in their 50s and 60s.
One reason for that delay in onset of cardiovascular disease could be that women are relatively iron-deficient compared to men — especially younger women, those in their late teens and early 20s — because of menstruation. Iron plays a very important part in the reactions in our cells that produce damaging free radicals, which glom onto cell membranes and DNA, and may translate into aging the cell.
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Women don't just outlive men in the U.S. In April, researchers in England predicted that 2006 may be the year in which women outlive men all over the world, even in the world's poorest countries.
There's an old saying that married men live longer than single men. It's not true. It just seems longer.
Although women live longer than men on the average, it doesn't mean they'll be happier. When men die, women miss them; women do all the crying in funerals because they miss the men they love. But let's remember that there are exceptions...