Are we making ourselves miserable trying to live longer?

Our life expectancy has increased, but our quality of life hasn't

Those last years or even decades may not be healthy ones.
(Image credit: Vstock LLC/Tetra Images/Corbis)

At first glance, it seems like good news: A new study out this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that Americans are living longer than they did two decades ago. The average life expectancy was 78.2 years in 2010, up a full three years from the life expectancy in 1990.

But delve a little deeper into those numbers, and you'll discover that while Americans may be living longer, they are certainly not living better. For one, we're slipping behind our international peers. The U.S. is 27th, down from 20th, in life expectancy among the 34 member nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. More importantly, our quality of life has also fallen relative to the rest of the industrialized world.

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Emily Shire is chief researcher for The Week magazine. She has written about pop culture, religion, and women and gender issues at publications including Slate, The Forward, and Jewcy.