As life expectancies around the world continue to rise, the United States finds itself with the lowest life expectancy of all high-income countries, a new study published in the Lancet has discovered. While women in South Korea are projected to live to an average age of 90.8 years by 2030, American women are only expected to live 83.3 years, similar to what's expected in Mexico or Croatia.
Researchers blamed a number of factors for Americans' unimpressive outlook, including greater obesity rates, homicides, road accidents — and a lack of universal health care. Majid Ezzati, a professor of global environmental health at Imperial College London, said part of why South Korea is so successful, on the other hand, is the country's investment in childhood nutrition, education, and technology, and also widespread access to good health care.
In 2015, the global life expectancy was 71.4 years. "This [study] shows that even if there is a limit to longevity, we are nowhere near it," Ezzati said. "We should be planning for more life."
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