It may not be a “Blue Zone,” but Australia is doing pretty well when it comes to health. People living in the land down under can expect to live up to four years longer on average than their peers in five other wealthy, English-speaking countries, according to a new study published in the journal BMJ Open. Compared to the U.K., Canada, Ireland and New Zealand, life expectancy in the United States lags the furthest behind Australia.
The study wasn’t designed to determine exactly why Australians are living so much longer than people in similar nations, but it does contain some hints as to what we could be doing better for our health and longevity here in the U.S. Here are the five key takeaways from the latest research.
1. Australia has universal health care
The nation’s public health care program covers many doctor and hospital visits at little or no cost to Australians and some visitors. The study authors note that the Commonwealth Fund — a private U.S. group that studies health care systems with the aim of improving access and outcomes — rates Australia’s health care system better than all the countries they studied, except Ireland. “Australia experiences a mortality advantage from circulatory and respiratory diseases, cancer and perinatal and congenital conditions, which are linked to superior health care system performance,” the researchers wrote.
That’s because universal health care makes it more affordable and easier for everyone to get early screening for these common diseases. The earlier these conditions — which contributed considerably to the higher rate of deaths in middle age for Americans — are treated, the less likely someone is to die young. Appointments covered by universal health care in Australia “include prevention, which is critical when we’re thinking about life expectancy,” Bernadette Boden-Albala, director and founding dean of the UC Irvine Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health, tells Yahoo Life. “We pride ourselves on spending a huge amount of money on health care and the health care system [in the U.S.], but we have a very fragmented health care system,” she adds. “Some people in this country are going to get the very best health care that’s available globally, and other people have no health care at all — that’s playing heavily into what we’re seeing here.”
2. Don’t smoke
Global smoking rates have declined in recent years, including in Australia and the U.S. But cigarettes remain a leading preventable cause of death. In fact, recent research projected that the cancer death rate among men will rise by 93% by 2050, with lung cancer remaining the leading killer, due in part to the fact that men smoke more than women.
But overall, Americans smoke more than Australians. About 12% of people in the U.S. smoke, compared to just over 8% of people in Australia. “We know that smoking is a really bad risk factor for cardiovascular disease, stroke, cancer, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, not only for the smoker but secondhand smoke wreaks havoc for people who live with smokers,” says Boden-Albala. “It’s an easy fix, but Australia doesn’t have the smoking epidemic the U.S. does, and that’s probably contributing [to the gap in life expectancy]”, she adds.
3. Cars, drugs, alcohol and guns are killing Americans prematurely
According to study author and associate professor of sociology and demography at Pennsylvania State University Jessica Ho, “Life expectancy is much lower in the U.S. than in other English-speaking countries like Australia primarily because Americans die at higher rates at the young and middle ages.” Ho tells Yahoo Life that people are dying prematurely largely of preventable causes, including drugs, alcohol, car accidents and gun homicides, suicides and accidents. In fact, “unintentional injuries,” which include all of these causes of death aside from suicide, are the third-leading cause of death in the U.S., according to recent CDC data. In Australia, “accidental falls” and “other ill-defined causes” are the 10th- and 9th-leading causes of death, respectively.
That’s in large part thanks to strict laws Australia has implemented to clamp down on the sale of firearms, low-quality food, tobacco and illicit (and prescription) drugs while implementing “aggressive” policies to promote better health and improve car safety, Dr. Steven Woolf, professor emeritus of the Virginia Commonwealth University Center on Society and Health, tells Yahoo Life.
4. Moving more and eating better could go a long way to extend lives in the U.S.
Aside from these, cardiovascular disease — 80% of which is likely preventable — is still the number-one killer of Americans and Australians alike. But it kills more Americans younger, which further undercuts life expectancy. Australia, on the other hand, “has done an excellent job of reducing premature mortality at young ages and of achieving low mortality from cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease and cancer at the middle and older ages,” says Ho.
In addition to poorer access to health screenings to diagnose and treat these diseases early, Ho notes that the U.S. has high rates of sedentary lifestyles and obesity — both of which drive up risks of dying young from heart disease (and other causes).
5. A possible silver lining? American lifestyles are looking more like Australians’.
Deaths are a lagging indicator of how a country’s health is faring. For example, the U.S. National Institutes of Health estimates that it took more than 50 years for declines in smoking rates to translate to declines in the national rate of cigarette-linked deaths. So, today’s gap in the life-expectancy of Australians versus Americans likely reflects habits and policies that set our respective courses decades ago.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, an average Australian is a nonsmoker who has never smoked, does 42 minutes of exercise every day, is overweight or obese and does not eat enough vegetables. That’s not too dissimilar to Americans, although we spend less time exercising (one recent national survey suggests we do about 20 minutes) and have higher obesity rates (over 40%, compared to Australia’s 32%). And there are some signs we’re moving in the right direction: About an equal share of Americans and Australians are meeting the recommended weekly 150 minutes of weekly exercise.
Ultimately, the national life expectancy is beyond the control of individuals, experts say. “It looks like, from this paper, that stricter policies around guns, alcohol and drugs are leading to better and longer life expectancy” in Australia, says Boden-Albala. “We should demand policies that are, as a whole community, going to get us healthier.”
But, she adds, “while we’re making those demands, we need to make sure we’re taking optimal control of ourselves and our families.” That means staying hydrated, getting exercise, making healthy food choices, trying to quit smoking, walk more, drinking less alcohol and getting good sleep, Boden-Albala advises. And if you don’t have good access to a primary care provider, her pro tip is to take advantage of community health fairs or pharmacies where you can check your blood sugar.
“Get yourself screened and get a good night’s sleep,” she says. “That’s how we start to take back our health.”
