Life Expectancy


  • A study of 3.9 million adults published in July 2016 in The Lancet has found that being overweight or obese is associated with an increased risk of premature death. 
  • The risks of coronary heart disease, stroke, respiratory disease and cancer are all increased. 
  • Overall, the excess risk of premature death (before age 70) among those who are overweight or obese is about three times as great in men as in women.
  • “On average, overweight people lose about one year of life expectancy, and moderately obese people lose about three years of life expectancy,” says Dr Emanuele Di Angelantonio from the University of Cambridge, England, the lead author.

U.S. Life Expectancy Decreasing


US Life Expectancy is decreasing:

  • American life expectancy fell by one-tenth of a year since 2014, from 78.9 to 78.8, according to a report released last week by the National Center for Health Statistics. Heart disease and cancer were the most common causes, accounting for nearly half of all deaths.
  • As The Washington Post reported, the last time the life expectancy went down instead of up was in 1993, during the throes of the AIDS epidemic. 
  • For the first time since the 1990s, Americans are dying at a faster rate, and they’re dying younger. 

Best State: Hawaii

  • Lowest Obesity Rate: 19% (Gallup, 2015)
  • Longest Life Expectancy: 81.3 years

Least State: Mississippi

  • Highest Obesity Rate: 35.2% (Gallup, 2015)
  • Shortest Life Expectancy: 75 years

Life Expectancy per Ethnicity