Podcast Center
Video Center
Webcasts
Resource Center
Events
November 21, 2013 at 10:12 AM
Are America’s poor health habits and spotty health insurance coverage catching up with its citizens? Perhaps. A recent study, Health at a Glance 2013, compiled by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) found that while Americans are living longer, their lifespans are not advancing as rapidly as in other countries.
In 2011, life expectancy in the U.S. stood at 78.7 years, which represents an increase of nearly eight years since 1970. However, that was below the 10-year gain registered across other OECD nations. In fact, life expectancy in the U.S. is currently a year below the OECD average of 80.1 years. In 1970, the U.S. was one year above the average.
The international group points to gaps in health insurance coverage, less than adequate primary care, poor health habits and what it terms inferior living conditions for a significant portion of the population as factors behind the disparity.
Yet, this lag is occurring at the same time the U.S. spends more on health care per capita than all other OECD nations. Higher spending typically translates into lower mortality rates and higher life expectancy, something that is not being seen in the U.S., OECD researchers maintain.
As of 2011, per capita health care spending in the U.S. was $8,500, about two-and-a-half times greater than the OECD average of $3,322 and 50 percent higher than the next highest spending countries, Norway and Switzerland.
The OECD noted the rising rate of obesity in the U.S. The percentage of obese adults in the U.S. has risen from 30.7 percent in 2000 to 36.5 percent in 2010. Though that rate is more than twice as high as the OECD average, the organization pointed out that the obesity rate in several countries is under-estimated because it’s based on self-reported heights and weights.
