America lags many other nations in life expectancy, largely because of obesity and, in years past, lots of smoking. That, at least, is the conclusion of a new study from the National Research Council, the main operating arm of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering.
The report mainly blames the nation’s once-prevalent smoking habit. While only 20 percent of the adult population smokes today, the figure was 40 percent in 1960, and many 1960 smokers are still suffering the effects.
“Fifty years ago, smoking was much more widespread in the United States than in Europe or Japan: a greater proportion of Americans smoked and smoked more intensively than was the case in other countries,” the authors wrote, as Reuters reports.
“Other factors, such as obesity, diet, exercise, and economic inequality, also have likely played a role in the current gap and divergence between the United States and other countries,” the study said.
At 78.3 years, U.S. life expectancy at birth ranks 36th in the world, behind most of Europe, parts of Asia and even Cuba, according to the United Nations. Japan’s life expectancy of 83 years is the world’s highest.
The report had some good news for Americans, however. The authors said that the nation’s declining smoking numbers will result in higher life expectancies in the coming decades.
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Let’s see. The NRC blames shorter lifespans for Americans at birth (i.e. born today) on excessive smoking by Americans decades ago. Is there time travel involved in their analysis?
You’re right, obesity has surpassed smoking as the leading preventable cause of death in Americans.