Hong Kong has the world’s highest life expectancy, here’s why
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- Опубліковано 9 вер 2024
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With more than seven million people crammed into a tiny land mass, Hong Kong is known as one of the most densely populated places in the world. But according to a number of sources including the United Nations and the World Bank, Hongkongers can expect to live longer than people in any other place on Earth. A number of factors contribute to this, ranging from the economy and social welfare, to tough government measures to curb smoking.
(Photo: SCMP / Xiaomei Chen)
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And a culture that values the younger generation keeping the older generation alive.
Amazind dp ( Rainbow 🌈 is love)
Asian Americans have the highest life expectancy in the world, which is 85 years old. I am so lucky to live in USA.
@Mahima Bhat read his name, he is probably some abdhool from Pakistan.
@Qusi Asan DISGUSTINGLY SAD
@Qusi Asan 🤣🎉
UK and US were probably not the best examples to choose for healthcare spending……
But Chinese American has life expectancy 85 years old, which is the highest in the world.
动态网自由门 天安門 天安门 法輪功 李洪志 Free Tibet 六四天安門事件 The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 天安門大屠殺 The Tiananmen Square Massacre 反右派鬥爭 The Anti-Rightist Struggle 大躍進政策 The Great Leap Forward 文化大革命 The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution 人權 Human Rights 民運 Democratization 自由 Freedom 獨立 Independence 多黨制 Multi-party system 台灣 臺灣 Taiwan Formosa 中華民國 Republic of China 西藏 土伯特 唐古特 Tibet 達賴喇嘛 Dalai Lama 法輪功 Falun Dafa 新疆維吾爾自治區 The Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region 諾貝爾和平獎 Nobel Peace Prize 劉暁波 Liu Xiaobo 民主 言論 思想 反共 反革命 抗議 運動 騷亂 暴亂 騷擾 擾亂 抗暴 平反 維權 示威游行 李洪志 法輪大法 大法弟子 強制斷種 強制堕胎 民族淨化 人體實驗 肅清 胡耀邦 趙紫陽 魏京生 王丹 還政於民 和平演變 激流中國 北京之春 大紀元時報 九評論共産黨 獨裁 專制 壓制 統一 監視 鎮壓 迫害 侵略 掠奪 破壞 拷問 屠殺 活摘器官 誘拐 買賣人口 遊進 走私 毒品 賣淫 春畫 賭博 六合彩 天安門 天安门 法輪功 李洪志 Winnie the Pooh 劉曉波动态网自由门
@@udayanav2148 o
@@alexoolau what is the average age of usa lifespan I’ve never seen usa top any world list on age span?
@@udayanav2148 shush
My grandma died at 101. From Philippines 🇵🇭
I think it’s genetics, lifestyle and food (our veggies is freshly picked from our backyard).
I can relate. My great grandparents were farmers back in Mainland China and lived up until their mid and late 90s. Three of them are still alive to this day, surviving a pandemic this time.
My grandma died at 110.
Ah yes most of the elderly in our province also loves eating veggies, their secret to a long life
What do east Asian people eat which the rest of the world don't?
GMOs and MSG.
That's their longevity secrets.
@@Vincent_de_Paul proof? source?
Many Hong Kong people tend to live with their parents after getting married, or if they move out, they choose to live in the same district of their parents' home. It is normal for elderly people to help taking care of their grandchildren. The elderly are more happy than their counterparts in Japan, who spend their elderly lives with their old spouse or live alone after the spouse die, with their adult children live in another cities and only visit them once a year.
Intriguing
Oh this is true
How do you know they are happier by engaging in free labor?
@@johnnypham2850 Most of the elderly are more than happy to be "free labour".
@@maychu7447
Excellent reply to Johnny.
He seems to be too "westernized" to comprehend the multiple rewards/benefits of an extended Chinese/Asian Family.
Okinawa, Japan. Okinawans live even longer. I lived there on and off for 3 years and older people are as numerous as high school kids on spring break. The average age is 90 for women and 84 for men. You see them all over the place and they are very active. I think living on a small island with a continuous breeze to blow off pollution and eating a lot of fish vegetables may play a role. The other thing, I noticed is many Okinawans, old and young, have overbites like a second tooth growing over another. Perhaps because of a small population without too many outsiders to interact with.
Are you sure it's not because the Japanese don't straighten their teeth using braces?
@@nitesan2814 I'm sure! I know overbites when I see them. It doesn't detract from their looks. Many of the women are beautiful.
@@garyw3331 my 73 year old aunty has one too (overbite),I think she is going to live to be 100 because at 73 she doesn't look her age at all, people do t believe when I tell them she is 73,she Treks everyday for very long distance,she eats lot of fruits and vegetables no red meat.
Do you think an overbite is a sign of a healthy life style?.
Shimane is currently the best
I was going to say that since I thought Japanese had the longest life span.
Hong Kong: That’ll be 15 dollars.
America: Five dollars for breathing and an additional 10 for existing not to mention the 4,000,000,000 dollar tax for riding in the wee-woo machine as well as another 10,000,000,000,000,000 fee for not having affordable health care because that’s 100% your fault cause we said so.
Murican capitalism
I think it's because of all the walking. Small things like that done on a daily basis compounds significantly
Americans don’t walk enough
You're right.
Yes, I can't help but associate every visit in Hong Kong with walking. The walking journeys are always interesting.
Not only Hon kong literally the whole China people walks or cycle
It’s the walking exercises especially in the morning and after meals called “saan bou” and the many medicinal herbal soups drank during dinner “yum tong”. Mind you HK is very polluted so it’s not what they breathing
I like all the trails and walking pathways so people dont have to drive everywhere.
Very healthy, I wish London did this too.
my boss(HK citizen ) is 92yrs old and she's still strong & healthy
Hong Kong still has many unique advantages and people should cherish this treasure.
HK is known for its fast-paced lifestyle. There's a local expression that literally means people are "too busy to fall ill but wouldn't mind dropping dead", assuming because the latter is less time-consuming.
Yes so busy no one even bothers to open shop till 11am you do know most people in London do 2 or 3 jobs right?
I use to believe hk was fast pace and worked hard but after a few years living here it’s not true people in London work harder and faster
@@sko1beer
Nice to know Boris has 3 jobs.
@@maggiechan33 with all them politicians in the uk on private companies payrolls as advisers he probably has more than 3
@@sko1beer
Those are not honest + decent jobs, but corruption.
@@maggiechan33 very true but the misguided youth in hong kong dont see it.
I admire their No Smoking policies.
Some people here at Hong Kong could live up to 90 - 100 years old. My great grandma lived 95 years. At the age of 95.5 years old, she died :(
It is incredible that such a densely populated region can have such a long life expectancy , but now I see that is because of non cigarette politics! Well done, Hong Kong! I hope that many more countries or cities can follow this model! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
Nah they’re still getting carcinogenic compounds to their lungs as it’s one of the most polluted areas. In fact over 90000 go to ER due to lung issues
When you get old must do Tai Chi Qi Gong or traditional Chinese martial arts two hrs each day . Try to do it outdoor in the nature . Also hiking . In HK hiking on the mountains is super accessible . Tea drinking (anti oxidants ) Chinese soups (anti oxidants ). Eating less . you can eat anything you want but just eat enough or less .
They walk. No one need a car there
When I was in Hong Kong, I was walking on average 8 miles a day. And that was just getting around the city on a normal day.
I absolutely LOVE HK. 香港加油!
To put it simply, a lot cities in the US were and still are being constructed around the individual having to own a car to do anything. So most people in the US drive instead of walk because bonehead city planners made it impractical to walk in most situations, thus lower overall health regardless of diet. I'm speaking of the US because I live here.
The other issue with US is if you go for a half hour walk, you'd still have barely left your residential area lol it's so spread out over there
Watch 1 hour less of youtube/netflix every day, and exercise instead. It won't even matter if you drive or not. That's the real truth.
It was because the city planners intentionally design it that way to increase/encourage car usage which means more profit for the automakers…the US government is basically run by greedy corporations…they could care less about the health of its people…
Wait until the whole of china moves from china into Hong Kong to live there
There are relatively few fat people in Hong Kong compared to other countries especially western ones, let alone obese people. Lifestyle choices and healthy eating.
Western fat acceptance activist will hate that fact 🙈
Is not a choice for people in Hong Kong, you have to walk if you want to go places and do anything.
Genetics also plays a big part as well. It's much harder for Asians to get obese
@@binhphan3363 food is the main reason.
Arabic people live on SA or UAE is fatter than one live in Indonesia or Malaysia...
Fat Chinese also risen in number compare that during Mao era
🤣👍
What I've learnt is that young people have more respect for their seniors unlike the UK. In general, Hong Kong seems like a happier place to live with plenty of sightseeing and things to do.
not sure how anyone would expect young people to respect elders in eu after they have voted all ther lives to send us into the abyss.
I have travelled to many countries and lived few years in HK. HK is the best place which stays in my heart. It has amazing people, places, infrastructure, lifestyle, etc. A perfect place for anyone to live 😊
CCP ruined it
@@hankhill6469 87
Qigong everyday works for me
It's so bizarre to me that healthcare in Hong Kong is so cheap, but if you're poor you have to live in a bedroom the size of a coffin.
Because HK is landlocked due to the government limiting the amount of land able to be developed, but the taxes still go to healthcare, hence why healthcare is cheap, yet apartments are small.
America could easily do the same if they stop spending trillions on wars around the world.
traditional chinese herbs and foods.
Agreed 100%!
Some ppl say traditional Cantonese style soup play an important part. And Chinese med practitioners (中醫) surely do a great job.
lol
Personally, I think they should raise the cost of cigarette to $10/box usd. I still see a ton of young smokers around.
Only 30 mins to most of the places wow! And lifts everywhere too. That explains why 👍
Traditional chinese medicine contributed vastly to health prevention and curation of cancers not mentioned.
Contributing factors - eating fresh food, less mass produced prepacked food; a combination Chinese and western medicine and thecommunity exercise programs help a great deal.
1/5 of the people live below the poverty line. Home ownership is less than 50%. And just so you know, Hong Kongers eat 50% more MEAT than the next closest runner, USA or even Argentina, at roughly 1Ib per person per day. Other than that, great report. Great.
Mainland will have Hong Kong's life expectancy in coming years.
More like the other way round
@@christianv-h3278 The butthurt imperialists are in the comments.
@Chit Chan I totally agree with you.
Next one million years
@@PutXi_Whipped isn't it the truth? your dumb lol
I guess all those preservatives are not just for food....
😂😂😂😂tell this to China
Don't they also eat the most meat per capita? 🤔
My favorite city, been their many times every-time the vibe is beautiful
I used to live in HK, I think one of the most important factors of HK longevity is they walk a lot on daily basis. 😊
You missed one No guns.
5:21 can we just take a moment to appreciate exactly how NOT to make a bar graph here?
Now that's B.S. Hong Kong people die earlier due to too much stressed living in the city. Housing & Food are so Expensive. Not anyone can live there !
And the American call their food disgusting. Meanwhile they eating junk food everyday
Americans should 1 of the last people (besides the brits) to criticize other cultures' food.
@@maggiechan33 Stop eating cats
@@MIDOGALI
Crawl back to your cave, neanderthal.
@@MIDOGALI
Your comment are demonstrates you are an ignorant racist.
One of reason Hk longivety Is more related to tcm dietary in chinese culture contributed to long life rather than related to health care.
They forgot to put 1 important thing that is The Gen factor , this tough people will create and breed tougher offspring
@eyes 777
I TOTALLY agree.
Most Hong Kongers share the same genes as the majority of the Chinese Diapora, both whom have been
confronted with difficult circumstances, but they chose to overcome their obstacles + succeed.
Both groups are forge through adversity.
is it because of the tiny apartments or
I hope India learns lessons from Hong Kong in building its health infrastructure.
most people live within 15 minutes of major hospitals with A&E facilities
The #1 reason Hong Kongers have the best live expectancy is the DELICIOUS Cantonese Food.
Hahaha agree . Actually Congee is super healthy and Chinese soups , Chinese teas are anti-oxidants . Also the seniors seldom eat sweets and dairy .
@@florencechan1184
Happy Healthy Eating !
@@florencechan1184 You are absolutely right ! I always think Chinese soups is one of the reasons for longevity in Hong Kong.
I have to say healthy food in Hk is cheaper than Bangkok now if mininum wages is consider.
I guess HongKong needs to address the higher cost of living and housing for younger generation first, so they could safely increase birth rate, rather than investing in continuing life expectancy, where the medical care cost will become a burden in the long run.
Hong Kongers I know are unusually kind and honest. When you're surrounded by such people instead of the opposite, you tend to live longer.
The secret to long life is more MSG on your food.
the secret is msg on healthy food not msg on unhealthy food like we do here in america
They have the most expensive rent in the world too. 😁😁
US is ranked 46th, with average life expectancy of 79.11, just beating Panama. So many people in US are without health care insurance; even with insurance, they could not afford the deductibles and copayments.
Medical bankruptcy is indeed common in the US
@@extremepsyche3135 My coworker went into bankruptcy because his health care insurance reached the lifetime maximum of $1 million. Cost of health care is out of control in the US.
Meanwhile in Indonesia even the kids are smoking
Little smoking. Period.
Passed the stress test, lol!
Well, in speaking of HK's longevity, the main contributor shall be the guarantee of ambulance service.
Everyone seems to mention height and genetics. Being slim build, short height will be as important as diet, health clinics, water, iq etc etc
Ask all the Chinese People who survived WWII. Many of them are still alive cause they don't eat unhealthy foods that people in major cities and towns do. My great grandparents were those people and three of them are still alive to this day.
During The cultural revolution the Chinese didn’t have much to eat and were doing physical work as teenagers all day after they survived this most fled to HK and they are super strong in the sense they have great stamina . However they were short because of malnutrition . I think eating less , no sweets and dairy which are not really part of Cantonese cuisine contributed to the slim physique and longevity .
Less pollution due lot green ocean fresh air, active.
No, air quality in HK is very bad, the sky is always covered in smog.
Have u ever been to HK and experienced the air
Did you forget Japan and Italy?😃
Watch 0:28 please?
Fun fact : Even grandma in HK are still working
It is the easy lifestyle here, it is wonderful . 🎉🎉🎉 I am local so I might be biased, everyone I know including friends, colleagues, relatives..... all very happy and we enjoy the beautiful weather here.
They walk more....
Those recreational areas were so empty, there were almost no people on that beach
Love Hongkong
The Asians learned from the Africans and have been able to hold on to much of what was learned in the past during it's present day. What a gift history is when you maintain access to it.
@@ramenlover1727 China has learned to take over present years Africa. China learned from Kemetans. Africa during China's infancy. Have you never visited?
wouldn't this be a breach of the national security law?? Hong Kong? as a country?
Oh boohoo oh noey Xi Jinping's poor little feelings got hurt >:(
Non Chinese should get the fuxk out of Hong Kong SAR, Chinese soil.
The video does not even say Hong Kong is a country. It certainly does not seek to collude with foreigners to undermine Chinese sovereignty over HK.
@@woodensurfer Right. Hong Kong "Add Oil" is a very common phrase, but still it gets banned. In the video, Hong Kong is not identify as a country. But every metric and comparison is made against other countries, not cities. It compares to Japan not Tokyo, Italy not Rome, United Kingdom not London, US of A not New York. So if China is consistent, then this certainly doesn't pass the smell test...
Well I guess Hong Kong is free and lawful as long as China says so
Editor Turn 📴 music
It's not hard to try to live long if done right with a proper lifestyle ( example: having enough sleep, eat a better food, and of course doing exercise for blood circulation and maybe some health meditation )
All of this is not expensive and can be done even by working class, there's no excuse for not being able to get all these unless you are jobless
that is so ignorant and i think you prove yourself with how you mention the working class. you only need to think about one word and that is stress, assume that's something your unfamiliar with as a privileged.
Yep my grandmother and her sisters all lived up to 90+ years and my grandfathers brother is 92 years old and looks like he's 70 and walks without a cane.
I like the story so much that I saw it 2 nd time.thx
Singapore is very similar to Hong Kong with regards to the factors aforementioned. So what could be the underlying cause for the slight difference in life expectancy?
Singaporeans have a less healthy lifestyle, more smoking, more elderly drink, more sugar diet, less affordable healthcare and more stressful. I used to think Hong Kong have it more stressful, but perhaps not. Singapore is an extremely stressful country and people have relatively less freedom and are more unhappy in the long run. Prolonged unhappiness might be one big factor for the difference in life expectancies between the two.
Different genes
@@50TEW The same Chinese Gene just a " Slight" different.
@@SA-de4lc learn the difference between North and South Chinese, very different you can tell by physical appearance
@@50TEW that's exactly what I meant by "Slight" different.
they eat everything including lots of meat and vegetables. they exercise and of course consume rice daily
How??? I’ve seen the horrible conditions poor people live in… and these dense cities feel suppressed to me
Because no burger and fries
Japan: *"Am I a joke to you?"*
Nah HK overtook Japan
Privilege makes them the longest living Chinese people. Protected and safe for generations. I'm glad reality have hit Hong Kong - but not surprised they flaking at the first sign of stress.
why are they privileged?
Amazing. I’m genuinely jealous.
Yes and No as far as HK goes. HK has a huge base of migrant workers, often work in the lower end of the society. these people are either not included in the life expectancy or they die outside of HK when their employments end or can no longer afford to live there. life expectancy has a lot to do with lifestyle and living care, so naturally life expectancy improves as economy improves for the mass public, essentially the richer you are the more likely you're going to live longer. without accounting for the 10% domestic workers, you're naturally going to high life expectancy.
Life expectancy is only for local residents not for foreigners.
I heard that HK people also do not eat leftover food, in the belief that reheated food is detrimental to one's health.
It is the double boil soup that is giving them the vitality for long life.
High life expectancy is lingering suffering if there is no quality of life.
Yes but food in HK alone makes life better than most nations
It's because their minds and bodies are constantly under threat from their environment, so their bodies are always in survival mode. Same principle as fasting.
That doesn't make any sense. Stress would only make you live less longer, not more longer.
Not really - they are the most privileged Chinese in the world. Protected by the Brits for 100 of years - never had to undergo famine or stress or anything else the other Chinese have undergone. That is why they live the longest out of all Chinese peeps. There is no 200 genders, no cancel culture and hardly anything regarding SJW. The most privilege of Chinese people in the world. While every single Chinese all over the world struggle to survive.
@@kaneidareyue7715 if you live here like I do, it's is the most stressful place in Asia. Work long hours, threat of being fired from excessive supply of labour (hire and fire culture), financial stress, overcrowding, air pollution, etc.
@@AlCatSplat if you fast, you expose your body to stress, which triggers survival mechanisms to conserve energy, leading to autophagy and renewing/strengthening body's defensive, resulting in longevity. Same thing in that other stressors prompts body to defend/protect itself. Eg: The only reason we have an immune system is due to an evolutionary response to infection over millions of generations. Makes sense to me.
@@Sy2023hk Yet no stress of being murdered, killed or hunger. Your worries are first world problems. My parents go to the swamps to find frogs - and that is protein. So don't pretend you guys are suffering. You're the most privileged Chinese in the world.
I recently read a book called "Ikigai" in which the authors talk about the so called "blue areas" in the world where people tend to live longer. Places such as Okinawa (Japan), Cerdenya (Italy) , La Jolla (USA) and some other place in South America, but HK is nowhere to be seen on it...maybe its data wasn't updated? Anyway, this video made me think if that long longevity of its citizens matches the ones of nearby cities like Shenzhen or Guangzhou, since food and lifestyle are basically the same and I believe public health system is cheaper (this is a guess and I hope someone could debate this) than HK and more accessible (which doesn't necessarily mean better). I'm honestly curious about it, since both my wife and my daughter are originally from GZ and we visit HK as often as Covid allows us to do so. By the way, one of the biggest flaws of HK is how hard it is to move around with a baby stroller 😅. Other than that, I love HK so much.
People in Shenzhen come from all over China and thus do not have Cantonese lifestyle and diet.
that's because the blue zones are places that eat a lot of vegetables and very little meat especially low in saturated fat. hong kong doesn't fit that criteria so it isn't included. they do eat a lot of veggies but they eat twice as much meat as americans.
Hong Kong life expectancy would've been even higher if the environment and air quality is better
I wish I could live in Hong Kong. Great documentary. Thank you, SCMP.
You want to live in a covid prison? Go right ahead.
Don't smoke
Weather is mild not extremely hot or cold
No McDonald's no parties
I think east asia country have the high life expentancy, genetic factor very dominant.
😆
we live so long because we haven't fully paid off our mortgages
70% of homeowners in HK have no mortgages
Kalau melihat vlog pembantu indonesia yang ada dihongkong.. Mereka makan sangat minim bumbu hambar, bumbu mereka hanya bawang putih, kecap asin dan jahe
Just like Japan: Eat little, sleep less, and work hard. You live longer, LOL.
Because they speak Cantonese.
Active lifestyle, access to affordable whole foods and first rate healthcare system.
It is a mystery honestly.
What?
Hong Kong is #1! One of the best places in the world.
Loose tobacco looks surprisingly like green tea in its cut form. Some campaigns against, I question their true origin, whether or not it be by big tobacco themselves. In fact, California has a anti-smoking campaign funded by big tobacco and my suspicion is that it could be a way around legislation passed that prohibits the advertisment of tobacco in some scenarios. So these workarounds are very telling and to be perfectly honest, I could probably live a very content life with only a fraction of a percent of that which they spend on campaigns.
Yes
Hong Kong Is No Longer Hong Kong Now. Sincerely ,❤,❤,❤
@Chit Chan lol you must love getting some personal rights taken away
@@truthboom Americans will be happier if some rights are taken away.
@@woodensurfer it will only shift the sadness to other places. It also lowers human potential
Hong Kong was the best in 2014 before the infringement on the public by the protestors and is the best today after the national security Law that has inhibited the violent rioters.
Hong Kong is becoming peaceful and prosperous again.
Also… Morning & afternoon hours for Dim Sum 🥟🥢🍵 Social Culture is helping them too! 喝茶🍵文化
Whenever I go to my school, I see many grandmas in the park doing exercise and yoga every day and that's on my way to my school, it's always cool! Also yea I live in Hong Kong.
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