Smoking and Obesity Eliminate Additional Years Off Of the Average American Lifespan

According to the American Public Health Association’s annual report, the trend of improvements in Americans’ overall health has stopped as more people become obese and fewer quit smoking.

The report, which examines 18 health indicators including smoking, infant mortality, and immunization, shows that although U.S. overall health improved by an average of 1.5 percent a year during the 1990s, that increase has slowed to just 0.3 percent since 2000.

Findings included:

* The average American lifespan fell to 69.3 years, a number surpassed by 28 nations including Japan, United Kingdom, Germany, and France

* This nation’s infant mortality rate is more than double that of Japan
Obesity rates in America have virtually doubled over the past 15 years

* Although 30 percent of Americans have quit smoking since 1990, the number of people who have quit since 1993 has leveled off considerably

* The report also named Minnesota our nation’s healthiest state, while three Southern states — Tennessee, Louisiana and Mississippi — rounded out the bottom of the list

http://www.unitedhealthfoundation.org/