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Asians in Boston Live Longest, On Average

This is a striking gap: the average life expectancy of an Asian living in Boston is 83.7 years, while the average life expectancy of a black person living in Boston is only 73.5 years.

Everyone else is in the middle: 79 years for whites, and 80.6 years for Latinos. The numbers appear in the latest Health of Boston report, released this month by the Boston Public Health Commission, and a treasure trove of interesting local health facts.

So what do those numbers mean? Are many Asians doing something right that many of the rest of us could emulate? Or is it just those longevity genes that have been somewhat controversially in the news lately? I've asked the commission if they could help clarify, and they've kindly agreed. Please stay tuned..

This program aired on August 17, 2010. The audio for this program is not available.

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Carey Goldberg Editor, CommonHealth
Carey Goldberg is the editor of WBUR's CommonHealth section.

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