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US presidents tend to live longer than others born in the same year due to their affluent backgrounds and access to good healthcare. Early presidents lived longer than their peers, and gray hair is mostly due to genetics. The longest-serving president was Gerald Ford at 93 years, while James Polk was the shortest-lived at 53.
Many U.S. presidents have gone gray while in office, which leads some people to think that the office of president ages them faster than other people, but that’s actually not the case. In fact, US presidents tend to live longer than other people born in the same year. This is thought to be because presidents tend to come from upper-class, affluent families and have continued access to good nutrition and health care throughout their lives.
Learn more about presidents and aging:
Early US presidents tended to live notably longer than their peers. The first eight presidents lived about twice the average lifespan of men of their time.
The fact that many presidents have gray hair and wrinkles is actually quite normal for most men of their age group. The median age for inauguration of US presidents is around 55. Also, gray hair is not caused by stress, however, it is mostly due to genetics.
The longest-serving US president in 2012 was Gerald Ford, who lived to be 93 years and 165 days. The shortest-lived president who died of natural causes was James Polk, who was 53 years and 225 days old when he died. Both James Garfield and John F. Kennedy had shorter lives than Polk, but were assassinated. Garfield was 49 years, 304 days old when he died, and Kennedy was 46 years, 177 days old.
