Americans Are Ranked 41st In Lifespans

In America, we take understandable pride in being Number One. We are, after all, the richest people on Earth. We have the largest military. Were still the only country to have put a man on the moon. Why, then, are we only the 41st (yes, you read that right) longest living people on the planet?

According to the latest report by the U.S. Census Bureau, an American baby born in 2004 can expect to live 77.9 years. Thats over 4 years less than a Japanese baby, who can expect to live a full 82 years.”

“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,” said Dr. Christopher Murray, head of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, in an article reported by the Associated Press. Americans rank behind countries like France (80.4), Sweden (80.3) and Canada (80.0). In fact we rank behind most of Europe, and even one Middle Eastern country (Jordan).

Whats going on? Some of the difference a tiny bit is attributable to racial disparities in life spans. White Americans actually live about 78.3 years...