There is no denying that being a leader of a whole a country is not an easy feat. Having the weight of an entire nation's issues, probably took precedence over getting a full meal and exercising. Fortunately, assumptions about the relationship between the stress levels of world leaders and their life expectancy are now backed up by science.
According to researchers from Harvard University, elected presidents and prime ministers typically live a few years shorter than the average modern life span. The study followed leaders from seventeen countries across three centuries and has discovered that on average presidents and PMS are more likely to die 2.7 year earlier than everybody else. They are also believed to suffer from premature death - 23% more likely than regular people.
"The increase in mortality among those leading a nation, relative to others in politics, may stem from the greater responsibility and stress of the job. The decisions are more impactful, the spotlight is greater, and I suspect the job is even more strenuous" explained Anupam Jena from Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
Despite the success of the research, there has been some criticism over the study's claims. According to S. Jay Olshansky, a professor at the University of Illinois Chicago, stress may accelerate superficial gauges for old age like gray hair and skin wrinkles. However he explains that that doesn't necessarily mean that they die earlier.
"The stress (of leading a country) could accelerate the greying of hair and wrinkling of skin, but that doesn't mean they'll die earlier" quipped Olshansky.
Furthermore, he has since claimed that former presidents and prime ministers in fact live longer that the rest of the world simply because they are part of the 1% of the population. Statistically, leaders tend to be more well informed and they have easy access to health care.
