When Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, medical experts stated that he had the heart of a 60 year old man, which could have eventually lead to an early death due to all of the stress that came with the 13 year civil rights movement that he effectively led. Judging by changes in hair color that seem inevitable for US Presidents, you would think that these individuals would have the same problems, especially when times are hard as they have been for Obama and other presidents before him. Just think about events like Pearl Harbor for example, which is being memorialized today by the way.
However, as it turns out the idea that US presidents die earlier due to the stress is actually a myth. Vice president Cheney did suffer heart problems during his run as vice president, but that was a pre-existing condition.
Even though presidents clearly show signs of premature aging such as accelerated wrinkles and gray hair that increases with every year in office, US presidents actually live much longer than their peers in the same age groups according to a new study released on Tuesday.
According to S. Jay Olshansky, a demographer at the University of Illinois in Chicago, “Just because they experience what would appear to be accelerated aging outwardly, doesn’t mean they will die any sooner.” His study currently appears in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Media coverage of President Obama’s 50th birthday in his hometown of Chicago sparked the interest, especially with the 44th US President’s gray hair and deepening wrinkles that are hard to mistake. It is a common belief that presidents in office age at twice the rate the rest of us experience, leading to the conclusion that these individuals would die earlier. However, when he tested that theory, the theory turned out to be completely false.
Olansky specifically calculated how long a former US president should live based on their age, the year they were inaugurated, and how long they spent in office and compared it to how long they actually lived. The four assassinated presidents were excluded from this study, because there is no way to logically tell how long they would have lived were they not assassinated.
This researcher estimated the expected lifespan by subtracting 2 days for every day in office, and estimated that a four year term would cut a president’s estimated life expectancy by 8 years. However, despite our thoughts on the subject, 23 of the 34 recorded US presidents who died from natural causes did not have a shorter lifespan because of their presidency. In fact, they outlived many men of their same age and era.
To give you an idea of what this means, the first eight US presidents reached an average age of 79.8 when the life expectancy at that time was actually less than 40. This could be related to better living conditions despite the stress and higher income levels. The average president at that time could definitely be considered to be rich, rich enough to afford regular and better quality food. Not working in the fields or in other areas of manual labor could factor in. However, how do you explain later presidents who have continued this tradition despite more equal and even living conditions with the general public, at least when it comes to eating?
The average president is actually 55.1 years old before holding office, which means that they have gotten through most of their younger years before taking office, and that is not something to ignore. However, it is important to note that not all presidents have done as well. There have been 11 who died earlier than expected, averaging 62.1 years when the average estimated lifespan should have been 67.78 years.