After Inching Up for Years, Life Expectancy Drops Slightly small text medium text lar

[Crabtownboy]

I read a few years ago this was going to happen. Obesity is, IMHO, the main reason. I believe the decline will continue until American change their eating habits.

The life expectancy for Americans has fallen by about a month after steadily rising for years, the government said.

A baby born in 2008 will live to be about 77.8 years old, which has dipped since its all-time peak of 77.9 years in 2007, according to a preliminary report released Thursday.

"For the first time in history, it is possible that total life expectancy will be higher for the parents than the children," longevity expert Dr. Walter M. Bortz, the author of "Living Longer for Dummies" and "Road Map to 100," told AOL Health. "I think it's the American lifestyle. In those counties [where the life expectancy is going down] the smoking rates and obesity rates are the highest."

http://www.aolhealth.com/2010/12/10...rops-slightly/?icid=maing|main5|1|link2|30415

 

[billwald]

If I had eaten properly and exercised for the last 70 years I might theoretically live 5 years longer. Let's see, 70 years, 3 hours of exercise a week which I hate, 50 weeks per year . . . that's 105,000 hours. Say 2000 work hours in a year, that's about 50 years equivalent of work/exercise. Not a fair exchange.