Sixty-three cheers for champion long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad, who turns 63 today. Nyad was in the news this week for attempting to swim from Cuba to Key West, a distance of 103 miles. Had Nyad done it, she would have broken her own world record for longest uninterrupted swim, (102.5 miles, from the Bahamas to Florida). She faced two squalls, lightning strikes, jellyfish stings and swam with all heart heart and mind for 40 hours and 45 minutes before the elements ended her attempt. “Stroking longer and farther than in any of [previous] attempts” to traverse the distance, Nyad should hold her head high today for acheiving something that very few individuals, even a half or a quarter her age, could even realistically dream about.
That Nyad did not travel the full 103 miles of the Florida Straits on her own power does not diminish her accomplishment or the inspiration she offers. Nyad is a hero, an excellent example that hardcore physical training and prowess is possible at any age.
Two interesting analyses about U.S. life expectancy were released this week that underscore the importance of physical activity and wellness as the American population ages. A study published this week by the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that the gaps in life expectancy between whites and blacks has narrowed. The gap, however, still remains significant. As the LA Times reported:
A black baby boy born today can expect to live 5.4 fewer years, on average, than his white counterpart, and a black baby girl will die 3.7 years earlier, on average, than her white counterpart.
Another analysis published in Health Affairs and written about by Brendan Saloner in the Inequalities blog shows that life expectancy is actually getting shorter for the least educated Americans. The study found that in 2008, American adults with less than 12 years of education had life expectancies closer to adults living in the 1950s and 60s. When race is added into the mix, the study found that “the disparity is even more striking.”
Put another way, compared to their college-educated counterparts, most adults with a high school diploma or less have made no gains in life expectancy in the last 60 years. Consider education as a partial proxy for income, access to healthcare, and time and knowledgeable about exercise and good eating habits, and you start to unwrap the onion of why socioeconomic status influences the length of one’s life. Looking at race, and connecting that to the different levels of income and assets experienced by whites, African Americans and Latinos, you can make a similar argument.
Health and longetivity are influenced by many factors. Some of these factors we can control (as individuals and as a society) and some we cannot. At 63, Diana Nyad remains a world class athlete, a shining example of superfit and super healthy. She is also white and college-educated. Unlike many sedentary members of her age group, she has not squandered those advantages. In fact, she has used them to break any stereotype about rocking chair retirees rollling around in golf carts instead of elevating their heart rates. Nyad shows extreme dedication and reminds us of the importance of not accepting the status quo when it comes to health and fitness. We can all draw on her Herculean example, and attack the status quo about healthcare and lifespan disparities.