Dying young: Americans less likely to make it to 50

A report released today by the National Academies paints a dire picture of American health.

Not only do people in the United States die sooner than people in other high-income countries, but American health is poorer than in peer countries at every stage of life — from birth to childhood to adolescence, in youth and middle age, and for older adults.

“The problem is not limited to people who are poor or uninsured,” said Eileen Crimmins, holder of the AARP Chair in Gerontology at the USC Davis School of Gerontology and a member of the National Research Council panel that compiled the report. “Even Americans with health insurance, higher incomes, college education and healthy behaviors, such as not smoking, seem to be sicker than their counterparts in other countries.”