Life expectancy in U.S. is slowing compared with other countries By Shari Roan, Los Angeles Times
January 25, 2011, 9:57 a.m.
Life expectancy has risen in the United States over the last 25 years, but it's not rising as fast as it once was. And, compared with other developed nations, U.S. life expectancy doesn't measure up.
In a report released Tuesday by the National Research Council, experts describe U.S. life expectancy as a "poor performance" compared with many other countries given the fact that the U.S. spends far more on healthcare than any other nation.
For U.S. males, life expectancy at birth increased by 5.5 years from 1980 to 2006. That's good, but it still lags behind the average life-expectancy gains of 21 other countries. For U.S. women, life expectancy at birth increased by about three years from 1980 to 2006, which also ranks much lower than other developed nations.
