U.S. Life Expectancy Reaches a New High

Posted on January 10th, 2010 | In Diabetes, General, Health & Lifestyle

U.S. life expectancy has reached new heights of 78 years, according to a government report released by the National Center for Health Statistics, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These findings mean that U.S. life expectancy has increased by nearly 1.5 years over the past decade.

Researchers are attributing the increase to a drop in death rates in almost all of the categories of leading causes of death.

Topping the chart of U.S. fatalities are heart disease and cancer. Both showed a drop in death rates, heart disease falling by nearly 5 percent in 2007 and cancer deaths by nearly 2 percent. A decrease in diabetes-related deaths followed heart disease, dropping by 4 percent.

One of the biggest declines was in HIV death rates, which showed a drop of 10 percent. The one increase in death rates was Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers stated this may be due to the fact that people are living longer and therefore may be more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease and die from it.

15 Leading Causes of Death in 2006:

• Heart Disease
• Cancer
• Cerebrovascular Disease (Stroke)
• Chronic Lower Respiratory Diseases
• Accidents (Unintentional Injuries)
• Alzheimer’s Disease
• Diabetes Mellitus
• Influenza and Pneumonia
• Nephritis (Kidney diseases)
• Septicemia
• Intentional Self-Harm (Suicide)
• Chronic Liver Disease and Cirrhosis
• Hypertension
• Parkinson’s Disease
• Homicide

Infant Life Expectancy Rises While Mortality Rates Increase

The report showed that babies who were born in 2007 had an average life expectancy almost three months greater than babies born in 2006. It also showed a slight rise in infant mortality rates to 6.77 infant deaths per 1,000 births in 2007.

10 Leading Causes of Death for Infants in 2006

• Congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities
• Disorders related to short gestation and low birth weight
• Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
• Newborn affected by maternal complications of pregnancy (maternal complications)
• Accidents (unintentional injuries)
• Newborn affected by complications of placenta, cord and membranes (cord and placental complications)
• Respiratory distress of newborn
• Bacterial sepsis of newborn
• Neonatal hemorrhage
• Diseases of the circulatory system

According to the World Health Organization, the estimated lifespan in the United States continues to fall behind about 30 other countries — including Japan, which ranked as the leader in life expectancy, topping the charts with 83 years for children born in 2007.

Make a Commitment to be Kind to Your Body and Your Health

You can help to prevent diseases and start increasing your life expectancy today by making positive changes to your lifestyle.

Taking proactive steps toward prevention means dedicating yourself to adopting and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. This is your number one defense against developing these serious diseases and reducing common risk factors associated with them.

Your Six-Step Plan to Preventing the Most Life-Threatening Diseases

1. Kick your smoking habit: Smoking plays a lot of havoc on your heart’s functions, including decreasing oxygen flow to your heart, increasing blood pressure, heart rate and clotting and causing damage to cells lining your coronary arteries and blood vessels.
2. Make healthy food choices: The types of food you eat can affect risk factors within your control such as cholesterol, blood pressure, diabetes and obesity. Incorporate vegetables, fruit, whole-grain and high-fiber foods, fish, lean proteins and other nutrient-rich foods into your daily diet. Also strive to get your food from healthy sources, such as a local farmer’s market, where you can find organic produce foods and grass-fed meat.
3. Make exercise part of your daily regime: Devoting 30 minutes of each day to some type of exercise at least five days out of the week can greatly benefit your health by lowering your blood pressure and cholesterol, reducing your risk of diabetes by lowering your blood sugar and boosting your sensitivity to insulin. You will also want to include a form of physical activity that addresses your mind-body connection and can help you relieve stress at the same time.
4. Limit your alcohol intake: Excess alcohol consumption can lead to detrimental side effects on your heart such as raising your blood pressure and producing irregular heartbeats. It can also increase your risk of breast cancer.
5. Reduce your stress levels: Stress can raise your blood pressure levels, alter blood glucose levels and negatively impacts your overall immune system. The key is finding ways to controlling your stress levels through healthy lifestyle management techniques such as:
   • Practice yoga. Studies have shown that yoga produces several heart health benefits such as lowering your blood pressure and heart rate and decreasing both cholesterol and triglyceride levels as well as elevating your immune system.
   • Relax by listening to soothing music. The staff at Sixwise.com LOVES the Pure Relaxation CD for this.
6. Keep a healthy weight: Obesity automatically places you at risk for high cholesterol, high blood pressure and insulin resistance, all factors that heighten your risk of heart disease. Studies have proven that obesity is a major risk factor to developing coronary heart disease, which can lead to heart attack. Obesity can also induce diabetes and may increase your risk of cancer. In one study, overweight adults who lost 5 percent to 10 percent of their initial body weight decreased their risk of developing diabetes by 58 percent over a three-year time frame.

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