U.S. Lagging Other Countries on Many Health Measures

Life expectancy has increased in the United States over the last two decades, but Americans are also spending more of their lives in poor health, a sweeping new study finds. And despite being the biggest spender on health care in the world, the United States lags behind many other prosperous countries in the leading causes of premature death, including heart disease, violence, traffic accidents and diabetes. The main culprit behind the U.S. health problems appears to be eating habits, which are too low in fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, and too high in sodium, processed meats and trans fatty acids, according to the report. The new study is the latest in a series of reports by the Global Burden of Disease Study, a collaboration of 488 researchers in 50 countries. The group is sifting through staggering amounts of information to learn how different countries compare when it comes to life expectancy and overall health. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_138575.html