Why is US life expectancy lower than the top 26 countries on the

[malaise]

UNDP Human Development Index for 2011

http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR_2011_EN_Table1.pdf

[raccoon]

1. My guess would be the income inequality pulls it down. nt

[Xipe Totec]

2. Because it's good for bidness?

Long live free range capitalism.

[graham4anything]

3. Guns? Working for a gun-free America

[hack89]

4. Obesity and poor healthcare.

guns are very low on the list of things that kill Americans.

[malaise]

7. The late Surgeon-General Koop heard similar arguments re cigarettes

but he still fought for a ban

[hack89]

8. Cigarettes kill more than AIDS, alcohol, car accidents, illegal drugs, murders and suicides combined

Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, imposing a terrible toll in health, lives and dollars on families, businesses and government. Tobacco kills more than 400,000 people annually – more than AIDS, alcohol, car accidents, illegal drugs, murders and suicides combined.

http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/facts_issues/toll_us/

[get the red out]

5. All comments above

I think everyone who commented above has hit one of the nails on the head. There are a number of factors going against us.

[bemildred]

6. Pollution, bad food, overwork, and a truly shitty health care system (for the non-wealthy). nt

[onehandle]

9. Conservatism. nt

[MineralMan]

10. One reason may be that people put off health care

because it's too costly. Since such statistics cover the entire population, those without health care coverage skew the results, I'm sure. The answer: single payer universal health care.