Why are people in big cities generally much healthier?

[soul_rebel]

Anecdotally, here in the USA people that live in the city seems "healthier" than people in rural counties. Maybe wealth/education is a bigger influence than just simply living in a city or rural area. Ironically you get fresher food, farmers markets, higher quality meats/produce in the urban core (because of wealth) than you can in your average small town with normal big box food suppliers.

 

[BearWithMe]

If it's even true, I imagine there's more options for immediate access to life saving interventions (i.e- surgeries.)

I believe that big hospital equipped for advanced surgeries is within 45min. of travel almost anywhere in the world.

Sure, in big city the hospital would be closer, but could this make 5 years difference in average lifespan?

In my country, we have hospitals on average 15km from each other. There is a hospital literally everywhere, even in rural areas. Yet the difference in average lifespan between metropolitan and rural areas is still almost 5 years.

 

[BearWithMe]

(...) living in a city or rural area. Ironically you get fresher food, farmers markets, higher quality meats/produce in the urban core (because of wealth) than you can in your average small town with normal big box food suppliers.

This is big one. If you don't grow or raise your own food, you definitely have worse access to quality food in the rural areas

 

[Razvan]

I believe that big hospital equipped for advanced surgeries is within 45min. of travel almost anywhere in the world.

Sure, in big city the hospital would be closer, but could this make 5 years difference in average lifespan?

In my country, we have hospitals on average 15km from each other. There is a hospital literally everywhere, even in rural areas. Yet the difference in average lifespan between metropolitan and rural areas is still almost 5 years.

What is your country pm me if you don't want to say it here.

 

[Riesensackteil]

rural people share the same and worse toxic habits. I myself have noticed it too that city people are healthier (and better looking by a long shot).

 

[soul_rebel]

Someone alluded to it as well. But depending on the city, the parks, art, events, architecture, and generally people watching can have positive health effects. Without a strong community, isolation in the country can be difficult. It’s why when people are wealthy and have freedom of choice on where to live, generally the “second” home is the rural one not the other way around. Though I do romanticize rural living.

 

[BearWithMe]

What is your country pm me if you don't want to say it here.

DM'd you

 

[BearWithMe]

rural people share the same and worse toxic habits. I myself have noticed it too that city people are healthier (and better looking by a long shot).

What toxic habits do you think are worse in the rural areas?

 

[Makrosky]

Honestly I doubt the accuracy of the studies. It reminds me of studies that say people in Scandinavian countries are the happiest in the world when in reality they're just massively on SSRIs.

Spot on. There are too many factors and the definitions are super vague and subjective. In fact if you check at the list of quality of life (Quality of Life Index by Country 2021 Mid-Year) most of the top countries (I live now in one of them and can attest) are also some of the most BORING AND DEPRESSING countries in the planet.

 

[BearWithMe]

Sometimes it seems like people don't read the OP before responding. Not even first sentence of the OP

 

[eat my peat]

According to every study I read and every demographical data I have seen, people living in big cities tend to live longer and do better in almost every measurable health marker.

Interesting... I've lived in a big city my whole life and can't wait to get out! haha.

I guess you have everything on your doorstep which helps? and everything is faster paced?

interesting thread - thanks for sharing

 

[PxD]

In advanced countries at least populations are heavily urbanized and wealth is heavily concentrated in cities. It’s where the jobs are, especially the high paying ones. People in cities will tend to be younger and also more likely to take better proactive care of their health (more money to spend on better food and supplements, avoiding things they know to be unhealthy, etc).

Being close to nature in a small town doesn’t help if you drink and smoke and shop for cheap food in a big box grocery store, because there aren’t any other choices. If you live close to an agricultural area you may also be exposed to significant amounts of pesticides and herbicides.

 

[BearWithMe]

Just have realized that in the regions with highest lifespans, people tend to consume the most alcohol, and there are the most hospitalizations for alcoholism... Obviously correlation doesn't imply causation, but what the actual ****

It is true for every country I have checked so far. France, Spain, Italy, USA, Germany, UK...

It doesn't work like that on international level (people in Italy definitely live longer than people in Lativa), but on regional level, it is almost universal rule (people in Madrid and Bilbao drinks the most in Spain and also live the longest)

 

[ChemHead]

I think the answer to this has more to do with the people than the actual environment. People that choose to live in larger cities generally (not always) tend to be of higher intelligence are more success driven... meaning they want to continually improve in most aspects of life and a significant part of self-improvement is going to be health related.

People who choose to live in rural areas are generally going to be less driven, intellectually and academically, and, as a result, will be less inclined to desire that continual self-improvement. They will focus generally on living and enjoying simpler pleasures rather than delayed gratification you might see from people who live in larger cities.

Again, I'm going to stress that this is more of a generalization. It does not necessarily mean that people who live in rural areas are dumb and those who live in large cities are not dumb. There are very intelligent people who live in rural areas and also very dumb people who live in big cities. However, people of higher intelligence will have a proclivity to congregate in large cities because it's where academic institutions and businesses reside. In fact, I'd say that the association between people of higher intelligence living in large cities is kind of foolishly obvious. It's not the large cities that first lured intelligent people... Intelligent people were the point of origin of large cities. Large cities first start as a congregation of intelligent people in what would probably be considered a "rural" area. Those places then become a center for attraction... It's where all the action is happening. It's where all the business is taking place. It's where people with great minds collaborate or compete with one another to build great things. Logically, the allure of a place like this draws more people of higher intelligence and drive, but it eventually also draws morons as the appeal of the city grows. However, it needs to be stressed that the city was first full of intelligence before it was big. So, the intelligence stimulates the size.. not the other way around.

So, to reiterate, people that live in large cities are healthier because large cities draw a certain breed of goal-driven people that generally desire continual self-improvement. And if you want self-improvement, you generally need money. To get money, you need to be intelligent and live where academic institutions and all the commerce and financial action is happening.

 

[BearWithMe]

I think the answer to this has more to do with the people than the actual environment. People that choose to live in larger cities generally (not always) tend to be of higher intelligence are more success driven... meaning they want to continually improve in most aspects of life and a significant part of self-improvement is going to be health related.

People who choose to live in rural areas are generally going to be less driven, intellectually and academically, and, as a result, will be less inclined to desire that continual self-improvement. They will focus generally on living and enjoying simpler pleasures rather than delayed gratification you might see from people who live in larger cities.

Again, I'm going to stress that this is more of a generalization. It does not necessarily mean that people who live in rural areas are dumb and those who live in large cities are not dumb. There are very intelligent people who live in rural areas and also very dumb people who live in big cities. However, people of higher intelligence will have a proclivity to congregate in large cities because it's where academic institutions and businesses reside. In fact, I'd say that the association between people of higher intelligence living in large cities is kind of foolishly obvious. It's not the large cities that first lured intelligent people... Intelligent people were the point of origin of large cities. Large cities first start as a congregation of intelligent people in what would probably be considered a "rural" area. Those places then become a center for attraction... It's where all the action is happening. It's where all the business is taking place. It's where people with great minds collaborate or compete with one another to build great things. Logically, the allure of a place like this draws more people of higher intelligence and drive, but it eventually also draws morons as the appeal of the city grows. However, it needs to be stressed that the city was first full of intelligence before it was big. So, the intelligence stimulates the size.. not the other way around.

So, to reiterate, people that live in large cities are healthier because large cities draw a certain breed of goal-driven people that generally desire continual self-improvement. And if you want self-improvement, you generally need money. To get money, you need to be intelligent and live where academic institutions and all the commerce and financial action is happening.

I have touched on this in the OP.

People tend to have longer lifespans even in super-poor, incredibly polluted industrial cities, where are no high paying jobs, no social life, no education, high crime rates, high unemployment rates, poor healthcare etc

 

[opethfeldt]

I think it is money and social status related. Cities are indeed more expensive but people in cities tend to have better jobs to compensate. Not only that but they probably have less lengthy commutes and thus, less stress. They don't have to travel as far to get basic items like groceries and clothing either, although that has changed some with the internet. I can tell you from living in a rural area most of my life, it isn't as laid back when you're not a kid anymore and have responsibilities.

 

[BearWithMe]

Why is nobody reading the OP? It is super short and simple

 

[opethfeldt]

Why is nobody reading the OP? It is super short and simple

I did. I disagree with your assertion socioeconomic status has nothing to do with the difference. Am I not entitled to my opinion?

 

[Makrosky]

I did. I disagree with your assertion socioeconomic status has nothing to do with the difference. Am I not entitled to my opinion?

I always appreciate your posts.

 

[ChemHead]

I have touched on this in the OP.

People tend to have longer lifespans even in super-poor, incredibly polluted industrial cities, where are no high paying jobs, no social life, no education, high crime rates, high unemployment rates, poor healthcare etc

Then does this qualify as a large city? A city can't be qualified as large without some kind of commercial activity going on that drives its wealth. Otherwise it's a dying former large city. Perhaps, there is a portion of the city where commerce occurs where people are overwhelmingly healthier and then there is a poorer area of the city (like most big cities) and there is somewhat of a runoff in terms of resources from the wealthier districts. So, the poorer areas of the city still have people which have relatively unhealthy habits, but they have access to better quality food and healthcare due to the proximity of better produce suppliers and large hospitals.

Anyway, the point is that if you take away the intelligent people that produce the city's wealth, those areas will probably quickly see a drop in health and longevity.