U. S. Life Expectancy

The U.S. life expectancy rate continues to improve (for the most part) but we continue to fall behind the rest of the world. WGN-TV got the story right today, noting that for women the U.S. longevity rate ranks #33 in the world while the rate for men ranks #37. CBS and most of the mainstream media failed to report the whole story. To support mainstream medicine and Big Pharma they only said our life expectancy rate continues to improve.

Thanks to WGN-TV for remembering what journalism is all about. Some folks, probably mainly Chicagoans, know that WGN comes from the Chicago Tribune which was called the World's Greatest Newspaper (WGN).

U.S. Life Expectancy Lags

A report published on Tuesday by the National Research Council shows that while life expectancy has risen in America over the past 25 years, it hasn't risen as fast as other countries. The poor performance now puts the U.S. behind 21 other countries. The report notes that the results are in contrast to America's spending more on health care than any other nation. However the focus in health care in our country has been on extending life rather than prevention.

How many reports is it going to take before people (especially politicians) stop saying America has the best health care in the world? We have the most expensive health care in the world.

Life Expectancy Dips

Data from the National Center for Health Statistics, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shows the life expectancy for Americans slipped last year. A baby born in 2008 can expect to live 77.8 years, down from 77.9 years. Similar dips have happened in 2005 and in 1993 so it will take a few more years of data to see if this is a trend.

No reason was given for the decline in life expectancy.

No More Excuses

Exercise makes you healthier at the cellular level. A British study of twins discovered that physically active people have younger looking cells, meaning exercise protects you against the effects of aging.

We've already heard that exercise helps reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer and other illnesses and the British study seems to confirm why. Telomeres get shorter each time a cell divides and scientists believe aging occurs as cells reach the end of their telomeres. Looking at the telomeres of 2,401 twins in a long-term study the length of the telomeres was directly related to their level of activity.

In other words, people who did 100 minutes of exercise a week had telomeres that looked five or six years younger than folks who did almost no exercise. There are no more excuses for not exercising!

U.S. Life Expectancy Drops Again

The latest news is that a child born in 2004 will live an average of 77.9 years. Sounds pretty good until you realize that life expectancy ranks 42nd in the world. The U.S. has dropped from 11th two decades ago according to information from the Census Bureau and the National Center for Health Statistics.

Dr. Christopher Murray, head of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington says, "Something's wrong here when one of the richest countries in the world, the one that spends the most on health care, is not able to keep up with other countries."

I couldn't have said it better myself.