Can Your Race Determine How Healthy You Will Be?

Posted June 11, 2008 at 01:30 PM by Donnell Peavy

Section: In The News, His Health, Mental Health, Physical Health, Lifestyle Health

Here’s something I’ve been hearing pretty much all of my life – as a black male, my life expectancy is shorter than other races for various reasons, both culturally and genetically. The University of North Carolina recently hosted a panel discussion which focused on the lifespan of men in various ethnic groups.

According to the panel, studies have shown that black males have an average life span of almost 70 years (69.8 to be exact) – about five and a half years less than a white male. Though there are no published stats, estimates are that the life expectancies of Asians, Hispanics and Pacific Islanders are higher than white men.

The statistics which were discussed made things look pretty bleak for black men, who have double the chance of drying prostate cancer, a 30 percent higher risk of heart disease, have twice the chance of becoming diabetic and are more likely to contract HIV, in addition to being more susceptible to hypertension and tuberculosis. White males had the highest rate of skin cancer and are five times more likely to have testicular cancer. White men are also twice as likely to commit suicide.

Hispanics showed high rates of HIV, asthma, diabetes and stomach cancer. They are also more prone to obesity. What really surprised me about the article was the report that Indians are most prone to die from SIDS and substance abuse, and that their rate of suicide is 1.5 times higher than the national average.

I am really curious as to how much of this is diet related. You guys may see future articles covering the average diets of the ethnic groups mentioned in this study.

Research sources and for more information: [U.S. News]