Good News! Americans Are (Kind Of) Healthier Than We Thought!
We hear so much about America's expanding waistlines and cancer trends that it's nice to get some good news every once in awhile! According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Americans are living an entire year longer than they were a decade ago because fewer people are dying from breast cancer, colon cancer, prostate cancer, heart disease and HIV.
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The U.S. life expectancy increased to 77.8 years from 76.8 years in the last decade, according to the HHS' HealthyPeople 2010 report, the government agency's goals and program to improve the health of Americans. Other positive findings from the report include reducing the rate of tobacco use.
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Where did the U.S. not do so great on its HealthyPeople 2010 goals? Obesity, diabetes, lack of physical activity and health disparities all came short. Despite this, the report states that these issues are much more top-of-mind with Americans then they were 10 years ago, which is a huge improvement. Just more to work on for the next decade!
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