What's Behind Asian American Longevity?
By Najla Zaidi | 05 Aug, 2025

Diet, lifestyle, lower stress linked to socioeconomic status, genetics and access to healthcare are primary factors giving Asian Americans longer life expectancies compared to other US racial groups.

Asian Americans have long held the top spot in the longevity race and have maintained the longest life expectancies since 2000.  As of 2021, it was 86.3 years which means they outlive their white counterparts by an average of 8 years with whites averaging 78.5 years.  Hispanic people come in at 81.9 years, Blacks follow at 74.8 years, and AIAN people come in at 71.8 years, according to the CDC.

Asians outlive all other racial and ethnic groups in the United States because their life expectancy at birth is roughly 86.3 years.  Life expectancy at birth represents the average number of years a group of infants would live if they were to experience throughout life the age-specific death rates prevailing during a specified period. 

Several factors are responsible for this longevity phenomena.

Most Asian cultures encompass diets rich in fish, vegetables, and plant-based foods like soybeans and tea, which are linked to lower risks of heart disease and certain cancers.  Asians consume much less meat, especially red meat, dairy products, sugar, sweeteners, fruits and potatoes than people of other races.

Soy is consumed cooked and in processed form like soy sauce, miso paste, and nattō, or as tofu made by coagulation of soy milk.   Soy is an important source of isoflavones, molecules that have anticancer properties and are beneficial for good cardiovascular health.  Studies have shown that consumption of isoflavones by Asians has been linked to a lower risk of breast and prostate cancer.

Asians generally consume green tea with no added sugar.  Studies from Japan show that green tea consumption is associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality and cardiac death. 

Asian Americans also tend to have lower rates of obesity compared to other groups, which is a major factor in overall health and longevity.  Obesity in the U.S. adult population is 36.4% for Whites, 48.4% for Blacks, 42.6 % for Hispanics, 37.7 % and only 12.6 % for Asians, according to the CDC. 

Asians consume relatively few sugars and starches, which partly explains the low prevalence of obesity-associated diseases such as ischemic heart disease, diabetes and breast cancer. 

The Asian lifestyle is also a factor in enjoying a long and healthy life.

Asian Americans as a whole exhibit lower smoking rates than other racial groups, including White Americans.  According to data from a 2020 National Health Interview Survey, smoking rates for Asian Americans adults was 8% in comparison to AIAN adults at 27.1%, Black adults at 14.4%, White adults at 13.3%, and Hispanics also at 8%. 

American Asians tend to have a better socioeconomic status as well.  On average, Asian Americans have higher levels of education and income compared to other racial groups, which translates to a variety of key factors behind health and longevity.  

One of the most important benefits of higher socioeconomic status is lower stress levels, according to the American Psychological Studies based on studies that consistently show that higher socioeconomic status (SES) is linked to reduced stress levels and improved longevity.  SES encompasses not just income but also educational attainment, financial security, and subjective perceptions of social status and social class. It is a consistent and reliable predictor of a vast array of outcomes across the life span, including physical and psychological health.
Research indicates that poverty, characterized by multiple physical and psychosocial stressors, is not a single factor but rather is characterized by multiple physical and psychosocial stressors. SES affects overall human functioning, including our physical and mental health. Low SES and its correlates, such as lower educational achievement, poverty, and poor health, ultimately affect our society. Inequities in health distribution, resource distribution, and quality of life are increasing in the United States and globally.
Socioeconomic stress refers to the long-term psychological and physiological strain caused by disadvantaged social and economic conditions. The relationship between SES and chronic stress is gradient-based: even within relatively affluent populations, those with greater resources tend to enjoy better health than those with slightly less.
Chronic stress is not just uncomfortable — it’s biologically damaging. Long-term exposure to stress hormones like cortisol can lead to various health issues, including hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. High demands and low decision control have predicted heart disease in white-collar workers.
Work stress has been identified as a risk factor for hypertension, diabetes, upper extremity musculoskeletal problems, back problems, and cardiovascular disease. High demands and low decision control have predicted heart disease in white-collar workers.
The effects of socioeconomic stress begin early and accumulate over time. Chronic stress is not only uncomfortable but also biologically damaging, leading to various health issues.

Higher incomes also translate into better access to healthcare, healthy food, and safer living environments.  

The 2022 American Community Survey (ACS) estimates that about 88.2% of Asian Americans age 25 years and older had at least a high school diploma, compared to 94.2% of Whites.  However, 57.6% of Asian Americans, compared to 39.5% of Whites, had earned at least a bachelor's degree or higher.  In addition, 26.5% of Asian Americans held a graduate or professional degree, compared to 15.5% of Whites.  Among Asian American subgroups, the Taiwanese population had the highest percentage of those with a bachelor's degree or higher at 81.2%.

Asian American households had the highest median 12-month income ($107,367) compared to other racial and ethnic groups.  A year later the median income of Asian American households had riven to $113,106 compared with $74,755 for the US as a while.  In 2022, 63.9% of Asian Americans, age 16 or older, in the civilian labor force were employed compared to 59.1% of Whites.  ACS 2022 estimates from the U.S. Department of Labor show that the overall unemployment rate for Asian Americans was 2.8%, compared to 3.2% for Whites. 

Higher income and better education gives Asian Americans access to better healthcare, better health insurance coverage and more opportunities to seek preventative care and treatment. 

“People with more education are more likely to seek out and adhere to health advice,” said Ali Mokdad, an epidemiologist at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.  Education also offers more opportunities for full-time jobs with health benefits.  “Money allows you to take steps to take care of yourself,” Mokdad said.  Research further shows that uninsured people have higher mortality rates and lower survival rates than people with insurance.

According to ACS, in 2022, 77.8% of Filipinos, 73.0% of Chinese, 61.8% of Cambodians, and 63.5% of Hmong had private insurance coverage.  Overall, 74.1% of Asian Americans alone had private healthcare coverage compared to 74.1% of Whites.  Then, 28.1% of Asian Americans alone were covered by Medicaid or other public health insurance, compared to 36.1% of Whites. 

Genetics may also play a role in Asian American longevity.

Certain genetically linked markers and shorter average body size may contribute to longevity among people of Asian descent.  Studies, including genome-wide association studies (GWAS) conducted on Asian populations, have identified genes and genetic pathways potentially associated with longevity.  BMPER and TMEM43/XPC loci is associated with longevity along with LRP1B which is also found to aid with healthy aging and longevity without cognitive decline in Chinese individuals, according to the National Institute of Health (NIH). 

Genetic variations in the FOX03 gene are linked to longevity in humans and animals.  The gene is also associated with body size and various biological processes essential for health over your lifespan, including substrate metabolism (a chemical reaction), protein turnover, and cell survival and death.  Studies show variations of this gene can also offer protection from certain diseases, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and neurological disorders.  Height may also play a role.

Shorter people live an average of two to five years longer than tall people.  Researchers attribute this to several factors, including lower disease risk and body size composition.  Research has shown that smaller, shorter bodies have lower death rates and fewer diet-related chronic or serious illnesses.  Examples of diet-related conditions are high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, osteoporosis, and gallstones.  This finding has been consistent in both human and animal studies.  

A 2014 study examined the FOX03 genotype and its link to height and lifespan in Japanese American men.  Researchers found that the men who were 5 feet, 2 inches or shorter were more likely to be protected by FOX03 and would live longer.  Those over 5 feet, 4 inches would have shorter lives and were not as protected.  While additional factors like nutrition and access to healthcare play a part in longevity, it is not entirely understood why shorter people specifically might live longer.

Nearly 90% of the mortality advantage stems from Asian Americans outliving others regardless of the cause of death.  The causes that contribute the most to the gap between Asian Americans and other groups are heart disease 24%, and cancers 18%. 

Asian Americans enjoy longer life expectancy due to a synergy of cultural, behavioral, economic, and genetic factors.  Most of the longevity gap is not that they avoid diseases entirely, but that they tend to live longer with those diseases than other groups.