Study: New Jersey Residents Have Longest Life Expectancy In Nation
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Good news for Garden State residents: You will live longer than most.
According to a new study, people who live in New Jersey have a longer life expectancy than anyone else in the country.
The study, conducted by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, also found that women in Bergen County have the longest life expectancy in the state. Men take second place behind Morris County.
CBS 2's Christine Sloan talked to seniors at the Midland Park Senior Center to spread the good news and to learn some of their secrets to longevity.
"Just keep active, really never give up," one man told Sloan. "There's open spaces and you can walk as I do ... gardening," James Edwards, 77 added.
Honore Fontez, 73, told Sloane, "I think [it's] the affluence ... the socio-economic ... people have the opportunity to do good things."
One man told Sloan the secret to a long life is a good family life, while Eleanor Farrar,75 said "yoga has helped her spiritually."
The report found that access to health is key, and that reducing salt in your diet can help you live longer. Additionally, some of the biggest risk factors to good health are tobacco, high blood pressure and obesity, Sloan reported.
"New Jersey does well [because] people are informed, fortunate [and] well-educated," Joan Campanelli, of County Nutrition and Wellness said.
Bergen County officials attribute their longer life expectancy -- especially for women -- to exercise at the senior centers.
"I think there is more advantage for us -- like we come to any senior center, whether it's in Fair Lawn or here," Kathleen Sylvester, 73, of Glen Rock told Sloan.
So according to the seniors Sloan talked to: You'll live long if you keep on moving.
Note: New York and Connecticut are also among the best states when it comes to life expectancy. Oklahoma and Mississippi are the worst.
Are you surprised that New Jersey tops the list when it comes to life expectancy? Let us know below.
