Australia has just come off its most successful Olympic Games in history, in terms of gold medals won. Our Aussie athletes left Paris with 18 golds, placing us fourth on the table after the US, China and Japan. Now, hot on the heels of that fine achievement, there’s a report showing something else Australians excel at – life expectancy.
A report released last week shows that Australians are more likely to live longer than their English-speaking peers. It indicates that we’re likely to outlast people living in New Zealand, the US, UK, Canada or Ireland.
A team of international researchers analysed national life tables from the Human Mortality Database (HMD) for men and women. They looked at data from the above-mentioned countries, and a number of non-English speaking (mostly European) countries for further context.
The team also drew data from the World Health Organization Mortality Database for all six English-speaking countries. The data included detailed information on deaths by sex, age, and cause of death.
Their findings showed that Aussies aren’t just currently leaders in terms of life expectancy, but we have been for decades.
By the numbers – how we lead in life expectancy
The six English-speaking high-income countries on which the researchers focused have many commonalities. However, there are considerable differences across the six, including healthcare and welfare systems, inequality, ethnic composition and immigration history. With this in mind, they sought to measure lifespan differences among the six nations.
What they found is that Australians have had a greater life expectancy than the others since the early 1990s. And the gap is a notable one, too. In 2018, for example, Australian women led their counterparts in Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the US, and the UK by between 1.26 and 3.95 years. The difference between Australian men and men in the other five countries in the same year was between 0.97 and 4.88 years.Canada ranked second among the six nations, but coming in a clear last was the US. This probably won’t surprise many, given the country’s reputation for diets high in fat, sugar and processed foods. This reputation was enshrined in Eric Schlosser’s 2001 book, Fast Food Nation, and the follow-up 2006 film based on it.
Where and why are we gaining the advantage?
According to the analysis, most of the advantage held by Australians accrues between the ages of 45 and 84. In that 40-year span our death rates from drug and alcohol misuse, screenable/treatable cancers and cardiovascular and respiratory diseases are all lower.
As for why Aussies have a greater life expectancy than the other countries, the researchers can only speculate. One of the more interesting theories is our high number of immigrants.
The study notes: “Australia has the highest foreign-born share of its population, reaching nearly 30 per cent in 2018. Prior studies have found that immigrants, who tend to have higher life expectancy than the native-born, can make important contributions to national life expectancy. In 2000, immigrants contributed 0.3–0.4 years to Australian life expectancy.”
Among the other possible factors put forward were a low prevalence of smoking, strict gun ownership laws, mental health initiatives, and our highly rated healthcare system.
As good as Australia’s results are relative to other countries, the authors noted areas of concern, particularly our Indigenous population. Life expectancy was worst in the Northern Territory, they said. They also pointed out that “Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders make up 30.8 per cent of the [Northern Territory] population”.
Overall, though, Australia is doing very well in the life expectancy stakes, especially in comparison with the US. On current trends, that’s one gold medal the Americans won’t be taking from us for a while yet.
Were you surprised to learn Australians have a longer life expectancy than similar English-speaking nations? Should we be doing even better? Let us know via the comments section below.
Also read: Life expectancy tumbles for the first time in decades
Disclaimer: This article contains general information about health issues and is not advice. For health advice, consult your medical practitioner.
