[Alex]

Originally Posted by LSPoorEeyorick

There's a reason that presidents tend to die younger than most; the job involves a lot of stress, pressure, exhaustion. Even for candidates.

Just sent me off on a silly research tangent. This is something I've heard many times and I've wondered it is true. Especially since we see to have produced a fair number of pretty old ex-presidents:

So, looking at the this table, here is how presidents have met the life expectancy for someone of their age in the year they were elected. Obviously, had to use some extrapolation since not all years and ages are covered.

Spoiler:

Green if exceeding expected lifespan at assumption of presidency
Red if fell short of expected lifespan at assumption of presidency

George W. Bush - 54 in 2000 - 78 expected lifespan - currently 62
Bill Clinton - 46 in 1992 - 78 expected lifespan - currently 62
George H.W. Bush - 64 in 1988 - 79 expected lifespan - currently 84
Ronald Reagan - 69 in 1980 - 80 expected lifespan - Died at 93
Jimmy Carter - 52 in 1976 - 76 expected lifespan - currently 84
Gerald Ford - 61 in 1974 - 78 expected lifespan - Died at 93
Richard Nixon - 53 in 1968 - 74 expected lifespan - Died at 81
Lyndon Johnson - 55 in 1963 - 75 expected lifespan - Died at 65
John Kennedy - DID NOT LIVE TO NATURAL DEATH
Dwight Eisenhower - 62 in 1962 - 77 expected lifespan - Died at 79
Harry Truman - 61 in 1945 - 76 expected lifespan - Died at 88
Franklin Roosevelt - 50 in 1932 - 72 expected lifespan - Died at 63
Herbert Hoover - 54 in 1928 - 72 expected lifespan - Died at 90
Calvin Coolidge - 51 in 1923 - 72 expected lifespan - Died at 61
Warren Harding - 55 in 1920 - 74 expected lifespan - Died at 57
Woodrow Wilson - 56 in 1912 - 73 expected lifespan - Died at 67
Howard Taft - 51 in 1908 - 71 expected lifespan - Died at 72
Theodore Roosevelt - 43 in 1901 - 68 expected lifespan - Died at 61
William McKinley - DID NOT LIVE TO NATURAL DEATH
Benjamin Harrison - 55 in 1888 - 73 expected lifespan - Died at 68
Grover Cleveland - 47 in 1884 (first term) - 68 expected lifespan - Died at 71
Chester Arthur - 52 in 1881 - 71 expected lifespan - Died at 57
James Garfield - DID NOT LIVE TO NATURAL DEATH

And this is where I got bored.

Conclusion of no particular value. While it may once have been true, there is nothing from the last 60 of presidents to suggest it is still true. I would suggest this is because while the presidency may be more stressful than ever, medical science is vastly superior to that of pre-WWII and presidents also get the best medical care of pretty much anybody in the world.