The Measure of Man and Older Age Mortality: Evidence from the Gould Sample
36 Pages Posted: 23 Mar 2002 Last revised: 1 Sep 2022
Date Written: March 2002
Abstract
This paper documents differences in body size between white, black, and Indian mid-nineteenth century American men and investigates the socioeconomic and demographic determinants of frame size using a unique data set of Civil War soldiers. It finds that over time men have grown taller and heavier and have relatively less abdominal fat. Abdominal fat in young adulthood was an excellent predictor of older age mortality from ischemic heart disease or stroke. Changes in frame size explain roughly three-fifths of the mortality decline among white men between 1915 and 1988 and predict even sharper declines in older age mortality between 1988 and 2022.
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?
Recommended Papers
-
By David M. Cutler, Angus Deaton, ...
-
Understanding the Twentieth Century Decline in Chronic Conditions Among Older Men
-
The Costs and Benefits of Intensive Treatment for Cardiovascular Disease
By David M. Cutler, Mark B. Mcclellan, ...
-
The Technology of Birth: Is it Worth it?
By David M. Cutler and Ellen Meara
-
Your Money and Your Life: The Value of Health and What Affects it
-
Changes in the Age Distribution of Mortality Over the 20th Century
By David M. Cutler and Ellen Meara
-
By Marc T. Law and Sukkoo Kim
-
Understanding Mid-Life and Older Age Mortality Declines: Evidence from Union Army Veterans
-
Fiscal Shenanigans, Targeted Federal Health Care Funds, and Patient Mortality
By Katherine Baicker and Douglas Staiger
-
The Poor at Birth: Infant Auxology and Mortality at Philadelphia's Almshouse Hospital, 1848-1873
By Claudia Goldin and Robert A. Margo