American Life Expectancy

A recent study conducted by the World Health Organization stated that Americans are lagging behind when it comes to long and active lives. "The United States, which spends the most on health, stands out as not ding as well as they should be," states Chris Murray, director of the U.N. agency's global program on evidence for health policy.

The United States ranked 24th, with a life expectancy of 70 years, in the WHO study. According to Murray, the United States spends the most on healthcare, but the bottom 2-1/2 percent of Americans have health life expectancies characteristic of sub-Saharan Africa in the 1950s. "Native Americans, poor rural black populations and some of the inner city populations have terrible health status," he adds.

The top ranking spot was given to Japan, with a life expectancy of 74-1/2 years of good health, with Australia running behind in second place with an average of 73.2 years.