Life span

More people may live to see the fifth generation of their families, or at least their grandchildren's children, as Americans live longer and healthier lives than ever before.

The CDC reports that life expectancy for Americans reached an all-time high of 77.2 years in 2001. For men, life expectancy increased from 74.3 years in 2000 to 74.4 years in 2001. For women, it increased from 79.7 years to 79.8 years.

The reasons? Effective public health efforts and greater awareness among people about healthy lifestyles and improved healthcare. Elizabeth Arias, statistician for the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics, which conducted the study, noted that people seem to have more control over their lives, in terms of their diet, smoking and risk-taking behavior.

Deaths from heart disease have dropped by 4%, from cancer by 2%. Stroke deaths have dropped by 5% and deaths from influenza and pneumonia by 7% according to the CDC report. On the other hand, deaths from kidney disease, hypertension and Alzheimer's disease have increased by 3-5%.

One serious threat to this glowing report is the increasing cases of obesity in both adults and children, which reduces life expectancy to a great extent.

Resources:

Read an article from CNN.com about the causes of higher life expectancy.

View the World Health Organzation's ranking of healthy life expectancies for nations around the world, and a summary of the report, including causes and explanations.

A report on life expectancy at birth, broken down by race and sex from 1930 through 2000.

August 23, 2003