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Showing Original Post only (View all)Dying young: Americans less likely to make it to 50 [View all]
A report released on Jan. 9 by the National Academies paints a dire picture of American health.
Not only do people in the United States die sooner than people in other high-income countries, but American health is poorer than in peer countries at every stage of life from birth to childhood to adolescence, in youth and middle age, and for older adults.
The problem is not limited to people who are poor or uninsured, said Eileen Crimmins, holder of the AARP Chair in Gerontology at the USC Davis School of Gerontology and a member of the National Research Council panel that compiled the report. Even Americans with health insurance, higher incomes, college education and healthy behaviors, such as not smoking, seem to be sicker than their counterparts in other countries.
Deaths before 50 account for about two-thirds of the difference in male life expectancy between the United States and other developed countries and about one-third of the difference in female life expectancy, the report found.
Among the 17 peer countries examined by the panel all high-income democracies with relatively large populations people in the United States are much more likely to die of almost everything, including injury, noncommunicable diseases, such as diabetes, and communicable diseases, such as HIV.
In its report, the expert panel identified several likely explanations for the lack of healthiness of Americans, including high levels of poverty in the United States and a built environment that is designed around automobiles. In addition, while Americans are currently less likely to smoke and drink less, we consume the most calories per person and have higher rates of drug abuse, the report found.
http://news.usc.edu/45586/dying-young-americans-less-likely-to-make-it-to-50/
Americans smoke & drink less than peers in developed countries, but die younger. Even well-off people die younger than their well-off counterparts in other countries.