I was reading about the French paradox, namely the French suffer a relatively low incidence of coronary heart disease, despite having a diet relatively rich in saturated fats. The French also have the 5th highest life expectancy in Europe, after Iceland, Switzerland, Sweden and Spain.
It had been hypothesised that wine consumption is what lowered cardiovascular diseases and increased life expectancy. France has indeed the 2nd highest consumption per capita among Western countries, after Italy. Switzerland comes third. Scandinavian countries, however, are not big consumers.
If we look at the whole world instead of Europe, Japan, Hong Kong and Australia actually have the world's highest life expectancies. These places all enjoy warmer weather than anywhere in Europe. So could the climate be as beneficial as diet ? I had a look at the regional life expectancy data for France, and it was very clear that warmer regions did better than colder regions. If we exclude the Ile-de-France region (Paris), which is first for male life expectancy and second for female, because of its considerably higher GDP per capita, here are the top five and bottom five regions.
Male life expectancy (2006 - highest)
1) Rhône-Alpes : 78.5 years
2) Corsica : 78.2
3) Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur : 77.8
4) Languedoc-Roussillon : 77.5
4) Pays de la Loire : 77.5
5) Aquitaine : 77.4
Male life expectancy (2006 - lowest)
16) Bretagne : 76.2 years
17) Lorraine : 76.1
18) Champagne-Ardenne : 75.9
19) Haute-Normandie : 75.8
20) Picardie : 75.6
21) Nord-Pas-de-Calais : 73.9
The ranking is similar for women.
The climate's influence may have more to do with sunshine than actual temperatures. Alsace is the coldest region of France, but ranks better than the warmer but cloudier North-West. Lower sunshine increases the risk of depression, which in turn messes up with the immune system and overall life expectancy. This may also be why Parisians live longer - because they are less likely to be bored and depressed than people from the countryside.
In addition to the climate, the northern half of France has a butter-based cuisine, while southerners traditionally cook with olive oil. This surely has an incidence on heart diseases, possibly more than wine consumption itself.
Interestingly, the Pays de Loire, which is in the northern half of France, has a high male and female life expectancy. Alsace also does better than other northern regions. Both of them are wine producing regions. But do the French drink more wine because they live closer to the vineyards ? I don't have the regional data for wine consumption, but I doubt it. After all, Switzerland does not produce (much) wine and has the world's third highest consumption. The Belgians and the Danes also drink more wine than, say the Greeks or Australians, who do produce their wine (and Australian wines are among the very best). If it's part of the culture people will drink.
It had been hypothesised that wine consumption is what lowered cardiovascular diseases and increased life expectancy. France has indeed the 2nd highest consumption per capita among Western countries, after Italy. Switzerland comes third. Scandinavian countries, however, are not big consumers.
If we look at the whole world instead of Europe, Japan, Hong Kong and Australia actually have the world's highest life expectancies. These places all enjoy warmer weather than anywhere in Europe. So could the climate be as beneficial as diet ? I had a look at the regional life expectancy data for France, and it was very clear that warmer regions did better than colder regions. If we exclude the Ile-de-France region (Paris), which is first for male life expectancy and second for female, because of its considerably higher GDP per capita, here are the top five and bottom five regions.
Male life expectancy (2006 - highest)
1) Rhône-Alpes : 78.5 years
2) Corsica : 78.2
3) Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur : 77.8
4) Languedoc-Roussillon : 77.5
4) Pays de la Loire : 77.5
5) Aquitaine : 77.4
Male life expectancy (2006 - lowest)
16) Bretagne : 76.2 years
17) Lorraine : 76.1
18) Champagne-Ardenne : 75.9
19) Haute-Normandie : 75.8
20) Picardie : 75.6
21) Nord-Pas-de-Calais : 73.9
The ranking is similar for women.
The climate's influence may have more to do with sunshine than actual temperatures. Alsace is the coldest region of France, but ranks better than the warmer but cloudier North-West. Lower sunshine increases the risk of depression, which in turn messes up with the immune system and overall life expectancy. This may also be why Parisians live longer - because they are less likely to be bored and depressed than people from the countryside.
In addition to the climate, the northern half of France has a butter-based cuisine, while southerners traditionally cook with olive oil. This surely has an incidence on heart diseases, possibly more than wine consumption itself.
Interestingly, the Pays de Loire, which is in the northern half of France, has a high male and female life expectancy. Alsace also does better than other northern regions. Both of them are wine producing regions. But do the French drink more wine because they live closer to the vineyards ? I don't have the regional data for wine consumption, but I doubt it. After all, Switzerland does not produce (much) wine and has the world's third highest consumption. The Belgians and the Danes also drink more wine than, say the Greeks or Australians, who do produce their wine (and Australian wines are among the very best). If it's part of the culture people will drink.