Des Moines Register
10-07-06
If we can't beat 'em, we'll just outlast 'em
GARY L. MAYDEW is a retired associate professor in the college of business at Iowa State University.
The information came to me in an e-mail. "Story County, Iowa," the writer wrote,
"was something like 17th best in terms of longevity out of over 3,000 counties in the U.S. You are always writing those Iowa-is-lagging editorials, so this could be refreshing good news," the writer went on.
Well, here goes. Based on 1998 data, Story County life expectancy was 78.1 years, tops in Iowa (though barely edging Lyon County), and comfortably ahead of Johnson County (77.4 years). This confirms my expectations that soberminded engineers, scientists and veterinarians have a healthier lifestyle than those hedonistic liberal-arts types over in Iowa City.
Out of some 3,000 counties in the United States, several Iowa counties are in the top 50 for life expectancy As for Polk County, sorry, you come in a mediocre (for
Iowa) 74.8 years. Apparently the 20-minute commutes you have to make to get to work cause considerably more stress than the 5- to 10-minute commute the rest of us in Iowa enjoy. Other Iowa counties with large populations have longer life expectancies than Polk, but trail the rural counties. In the rural counties, income didn't appear to have a large impact on life expectancy. Ringgold, Davis and Decatur Counties, three of the poorest counties in Iowa, all had life expectancies higher than all but one of our large population counties.
I started looking at life expectancy with the expectation that Des Moines would look very good compared to the high-stress, high-tech areas of the country.
Unfortunately, such was not the case. San Mateo County, in the heart of the
Silicon Valley, has a life expectancy of 77.2 years; the high-tech area around
Boston 77.0; the research triangle in North Carolina 75.8. Does great wealth buy more longevity than the decrease in longevity caused by the stress it takes to produce that wealth?
Not to feel too bad though, Polk County. Longevity in Boliver County, Miss., was only 70.5 years. At the other end, three counties in Minnesota had longevity of
80.1 years. Apparently those bracing minus-20 degree nights in January keep the circulation going. Or maybe if one lives in Minnesota, it just seems as if you live forever.
So take heart, fellow Iowans. Maybe we are not the wealthiest or fastest-growing state. Maybe we don't have mountains, sea shore, balmy sunshine every day and exciting cities. But we do live a long time. Isn't that what it's all about?

I think it's not just the constantly changing climate in Iowa that keeps us going, or the lack of smog or stress induced by traffic jams or a fast-paced lifestyle. It's that intrinsic Iowa stubbornness that leads to longevity. "We'll be damned if we'll just give up and die."
So East and West Coasters, come to Iowa. And be prepared to live a long, long time.