With Obesity, Expect Lower Life Expectancy

Other countries are surpassing the United States in life expectancy due to smoking and obesity. New research says that life expectancy is increasing, but it is slower than 21 other countries included in the report.

The National Research Council, an arm of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, says that life expectancy at age 50 is 33.1 years, while it's 35.5 on average for women in Japan, Australia, Italy and Spain.

Since the United States spends more on health care than any other country, this slowed pace is striking, said report co-author Samuel H. Preston, a professor of demography at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. The results are "surprising in terms of our self-concept," he added.

They go on to note that smoking cigarettes, particularly the heavy amount of smoking done by American women is a main causal factor. They also noted that U.S. is the heaviest nation in the world, and that, "Obesity also appears to be important, but we are less certain of its role," says Samuel H. Preston.

Life expectancy for American men increased by 5.5 years between 1980 to 2006, but that was less than the average of 21 other countries in the study. The increase for women was less. Over the same time period, life expectancy at birth for women increased from 77.5 to 80.7 years, the report states.

Men appear to be better off than women, noting 1 to 1.5 years behind the leaders.

While smoking is the key factor, the report also said obesity may account for a fifth to a third of the U.S. shortfall in life expectancy.

As our nation gets bigger, there are options to improve your life expectancy. Diet and expericse can help you shedd the pounds, but if you're struggling with obesity you may about to look into bariatric surgery like Gastric Bypass. Bariatric Surgery can help you, in a fairly quick time frame get ride of the unwanted fat from your body.