Life
Expectancy
By Albert B. Kelly
We live in an age of
lists. With our access to all kinds of information these days, we can list and quantify
just about anything. But recently I came across a list of places with the
longest and shortest life expectancies.
The city with the longest
life expectancy (on a list of the top 50) was the Daphne-Fairhope-Foley metro
area in Alabama. On average, folks there live to a ripe 77.7 years. The place
with the shortest life expectancy was Gadsden, Alabama and people there aren’t
projected to go much beyond 72.9 years.
I’m not sure why both
extremes are in Alabama; Daphne-Fairhope in the southwest corner of the state
is only 300 or so miles from Gadsden in the northeast corner- but it is. Could
be the water, but most likely it’s the fact that the obesity rate in Gadsden is
34% and the poverty rate 18%. Daphne-Fairhope’s obesity rate is 25% with a 12.7%
poverty rate.
So there it is; thinner and
wealthier beats fatter and poorer every time. How does the
Vineland-Millville-Bridgeton metro area stack up you ask? We rank 30th for
places with the shortest life expectancy- 76.7 years. Beyond that, we have an
obesity rate of 34% and a poverty rate of nearly 20%.
I suppose if you’re young-
a Gen X or millennial kid- the extra 3.8 years might not sound like a big deal,
but if you have clear memories of the Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations,
3.8 years ain’t nothin to sneeze at. But it’s really the obesity number we
should key in on.
I say that, because it’s
more than just eating disposable fast food and junk food, this issue drills
down to what foods we can access and at what cost. From there, it comes full
circle, leading us back to nutrition and health, and ultimately life
expectancy. Dealing with it requires a new mindset.
Back in 1940, an analysis
entitled “The Chemical Composition of Foods” was completed and it became a
baseline for many common foods. In 2002, Dr. David Thomas compared the 1940
data with today’s foods.
The bottom line is that
the foods we eat today have less of the minerals and nutrients we need to stay
healthy. For example, in fruits and vegetables, zinc was down 27% and 59%
respectively. Across all food groups, copper was down 20 to 90 percent,
magnesium 26%, and iron 24 to 83 percent to name a few.
Assuming we can even afford
to buy more fresh fruits and vegetables, we won’t get the same level of
nutrients and minerals from our food that our grandparents got from theirs.
What does this mean for us? Maybe it’s time we took more responsibility for our
own nutrition and health.
One way is with community
gardens and urban farming. Nothing huge, but something we do city-wide on different
neighborhood plots. This allows us to be proactive rather than waiting for
something out there to change; i.e., the price of fruits and vegetables,
nutritional content, access, etc. Here’s the new mindset.
City dwellers from Boston
to Seattle have created their own urban farms and community gardens to grow
their own produce. Here in Bridgeton, CATA has their garden on Church Street
and Gateway has Mill Creek Farm on Mill Street.
But here’s the thing, we
can do more than simply grow fruits and vegetables, we can grow them with the
mineral and nutritional content we need for good health. Science is discovering
the value of “good bacteria”- it’s why yogurts and probiotics are a thing today-
what science calls our microbiome.
Plants and soil have their
own good bacteria and with a little composting- like everything from leftovers
and leaves to coffee grinds- you can have a lush garden of fruits and
vegetables without expensive chemicals, pesticides, or harsh fertilizers.
I know we have a number of
vacant undersized City-owned lots that could make good neighborhood spots for
gardens or small urban farm plots. What I don’t know is whether groups,
organizations, or even churches would be interested in creating one. I’d like to
find out; call at me (856) 455-3230 Ext 200 if you’re willing.
I think it’s important; we
can’t easily live in a “disposable” mindset where we just stuff our faces, throw
it away and buy more. This shouldn’t be something others do in places like Seattle,
San Francisco, or even Daphne, Alabama…they’re not the only ones who can use an
extra 3.8 years.