Politicians playing the long game, literally
Before we get started with actual information, here’s a joke about politicians:
What do you call a lawyer with an IQ of 100? Your Honor.
What do you call a lawyer with an IQ of 50? Senator.
Politics is a dirty business, no doubt, so why do people do it? Is it for the prestige? Seems like everyone hates politicians, so it’s probably not that. Is it their selfless concern for the well-being of others? Probably not that either. Is it for the money? Most members of Congress have more corporate sponsors than a NASCAR driver, but we’re going to pass on that one as well.
Phi Nguyen/House of Representatives
Once again, science gives us the real answer: Longevity. Politicians live longer than the rest of us, and that longevity gap is getting wider.
Investigators looked at data from 11 industrialized countries, some of it going back to 1817, and found that politicians in the United States can expect to live about 7 years longer than the national average. The difference is around 3 years in Switzerland, 4.5 years in Germany, and 6 years in France.
“For almost all countries, politicians had similar rates of mortality to the general population in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Throughout the 20th century, differences in mortality rates widened significantly across all countries, so that politicians had an increasing survival advantage over the general population,” they said in a written statement.
Income inequality could be a factor, but the longevity gains made by politicians, which started before the 1940s, predate the rise of their earnings relative to the rest of the population, which didn’t really get going until the 1980s, the investigators noted.
Whatever the reason, we have this closing thought regarding our long-lived lawmakers: What’s the difference between a politician and a snail? One is a slimy pest that leaves a trail everywhere. The other is a snail.
Land of the free, home of obesity
In the United States, it seems, people are becoming more comfortable with obesity. TikTok and Instagram trends often try to show the world that all sizes are beautiful. There’s also the growing popularity of the dad bod.
PxHere
America, it has been said, is the land of the free. We love our freedom, and we value our individualism. If an obese man orders three meals from McDonald’s just for himself, no one is going to stop him. Many Americans also have more access to the food they want at any given time, even while they are moving around a lot less because of their sedentary lifestyles.
According to a recent study cited by the New York Post, however, America is not the only country battling obesity. Egypt and Mexico, for example, also have men with higher BMIs who cherish their individualism and the right to eat what they want, Plamen Akaliyski, PhD, of University Carlos III of Madrid, and associates, said in Social Science & Medicine.
Women are not as likely to think the same way. “Men in particular think, ‘I’m an individual, don’t tell me what to do. I’m going to eat what I want,’ ” bariatric surgeon George A. Fielding, MD, said in the Post article. Dr. Fielding also noted that women are three times more likely than men to seek bariatric surgery.
Dr. Akaliyski and associates found that Asian countries such as Japan, Singapore, and South Korea – countries that value thrift, discipline, self control, and delaying gratification – have lower rates of obesity.
So yes, we can go to the drive through of a fast food restaurant whenever we want and order whatever we want, but can doesn’t always mean should.