Your Health is Determined by your Zip Code?

As a public health major, I learned a lot about health determinants. There are factors we aren't even really aware of that affect our longevity & quality of life. According to the CDC, there are 5 key interconnected health determinants: genetics, behavior, environmental and physical influences, medical care and social factors.

So what does this have to do with me being a loan officer? Well, up to 60% of your health is determined solely by your zip code. This is largely due to the nature of the communities people reside in, such as whether it has wealth, whether or not there is strong community investment, and whether hospitals and health centers are present, among others.

Basically, a lot of what the CDC mentions as "interconnected" has to do with where you live.

People ask me all the time how I ended up in mortgages when I studied public health. And here's your answer! It is related. Everything is public health.