Life Expectancy Rising Around the World, Except in U.S.

American women fell to 36th place in ranking

More of the world's population is now living longer as, over the past 20 years, its seen a sharp decline in deaths from malnutrition and diseases like measles and tuberculosis. Instead, they are dying from diseases more associated with rich countries, like cancer and heart disease. But while developing countries made big strides -- infant mortality has declined by more than half since 1990, and the average age of death in Brazil jumped to 63 from 28 in 1970 -- the United States stagnated. Rising rates of obesity among American women and the legacy of smoking are some contributing factors. They've caused American women to fall to 36th place in the report’s global ranking of life expectancy, down from 22nd in 1990. “It’s alarming just how little progress there has been for women in the United States,” said Christopher Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. (MSNBC)

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