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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: life expectancy

life expectancy stories: 16 news summaries

 Half of US Babies Will See 100 

Upward life expectancy trend shows no signs of slowing

Oct 2, 09 10:06 AM CDT
(Newser) - More than half of the children born today in wealthy developed countries will live to see their 100th birthday. New research coming out of Denmark also suggests life expectancy in general has increased dramatically as medicine and diagnosis of diseases afflicting the elderly have improved. Since the 1950s, the BBC... More »

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medicine • elderly • Europe • life expectancy • Denmark • lifespan • developed countries • scientific study • babies

(Newser) - Americans are living longer than ever before, with an average life expectancy of 77.9 years, reports NPR. The CDC, citing 2007 death certificate records, says US men now live 75.3 years, and women 80.4. Great news, until you consider people in more than two dozen other countries... More »

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life expectancy

(Newser) - Being a touch on the heavy side could help you live an extra few years, Japanese researchers say. People who were a little overweight at 40 lived 6 to 7 years longer than those who were very thin at that age, AFP reports. The very thin had a life expectancy... More »

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obesity • study • obesity epidemic • life expectancy • overweight • thin

 Japan Tops 
 Life-Expectancy List 

Sierra Leone, Afghanistan fall at bottom

May 21, 09 10:55 AM CDT
(Newser) - Health initiatives and wars have flipped some of the world's life expectancies since 1990, the World Heath Organization said today. Some findings, via AP:
  • Japanese women, at 86, and San Marino men, 81, enjoy the longest life expectancies.
  • Sierra Leone men, 39, at Afghan women, 42, have the
... More »

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Afghanistan • health • Japan • Sierra Leone • life expectancy • World Health Organization • San Marino

Study: Obesity as Bad as Smoking 

Being extremely overweight can trim a decade from lifespans

Mar 18, 09 2:09 AM CDT
(Newser) - Obesity can take years off a life, and in some cases is as dangerous to health as smoking, reports USA Today. Researchers analyzing studies involving almost a million people found that obese adults died an average of three years earlier than people with a healthy body-mass index. Extremely obese adults—... More »

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obesity • obesity epidemic • smoking • public health • life expectancy • overweight

 Do Deciders Age Prematurely? 

Stress causes grays and wrinkles, but nobody agrees whether presidents die early

Jan 4, 09 5:22 PM CST
(Newser) - Four to eight years as leader of the free world gave George W. plenty of wrinkles and gray hairs—but just what are the presidency’s long-term aging effects? One doctor found that presidents generally have shorter-than-average lifespans, the Boston Globe reports, while another pegs two years for every one... More »

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Barack Obama • presidency • Jimmy Carter • age • Bill Clinton • wrinkles • aging • life expectancy • stress • Ronald Reagan • heart attack • George HW Bush • aging process • George W. Bush • former presidents

  Drug Revolution Boosts
HIV Survival Rates

Early diagnosis is vital

Jul 25, 08 3:20 AM CDT
(Newser) - A revolution in drug treatments for people with HIV has dramatically increased survival rates in the West, reports the Independent. A patient diagnosed today at the age of 20 can expect to live to nearly 70 by taking cocktails of drugs. Life expectancy improved by an average of 13 years... More »

MORE ABOUT:
HIV • life expectancy • AIDS epidemic • Antiretroviral Therapy Cohort Collaboration • screening • Terence Higgins Trust • Julian Hows

 Red Wine Linked
 to Longer Life 

Grape ingredient could be used for anti-aging drugs

Jun 4, 08 5:19 AM CDT
(Newser) - Researchers have found new signs that the fountain of youth could be filled with red wine, the New York Times reports. Resveratrol, an ingredient in grape skins, has been found to slow the effects of aging by triggering a change in the body—making it switch resources from fertility to... More »

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health • wine • aging • life expectancy • red wine • resveratrol

Life Grows Shorter for America's Poor 

Smoking, obesity blamed for spread
of 'death gap'

Apr 22, 08 10:40 AM CDT
(Newser) - Life is getting shorter for many of America's poorest people, USA Today reports. Life expectancy has risen in most of the nation since 1960 but in some areas—including the Deep South and Appalachia—life expectancy has dropped significantly, according to a study published in The Public Library of Science.... More »

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obesity • health • smoking • life expectancy • poverty • inequality

Gene Tweaking Dramatically Extends Life

Altered yeast microbes live 10 times longer
than control group

Jan 14, 08 5:33 PM CST
(Newser) - In a breakthrough that may have implications for humans, researchers have made the lifespan of yeast 10 times longer, doubling the previous record for life expansion, LiveScience reports. Genetic alteration and a low-calorie diet prolonged the microbe's existence from the typical 1 week to 10 weeks. The scientists involved have... More »

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genetics • DNA • life expectancy • genes • microorganisms • longevity • yeast • life extension

UN: Iceland Best Place to Live

Sub-Saharan Africa, it turns out, not so great

Nov 27, 07 1:21 PM CST
(Newser) - Iceland has inched out longtime champ Norway as the best place in the world to live, and sub-Saharan Africa is the worst. The UN list, out today, ranks countries by real per-capita GDP, education, and life expectancy. The US ranked 12th, down from 8th last year, as relatively low life... More »

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United Nations • list • Sierra Leone • Norway • life expectancy • GDP • Iceland

US Life Expectancy Hits Record

Americans expected to live almost 78 years, but country still places 42nd

Sep 12, 07 4:58 PM CDT
(Newser) - Americans can expect to live longer than ever before, according to figures out today, thanks to falling rates of deaths from heart disease, cancer, and stroke. In 2005, US life expectancy increased to almost 78 years, the country’s highest number ever—but only 42nd in the world. The news... More »

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cancer • heart disease • Parkinson's disease • infant mortality • life expectancy • stroke • Alzheimer's Disease

In Vino ...
a Fountain
of Youth?

Harvard man finds red wine chemical helps mice live 24% longer

Aug 30, 07 5:46 AM CDT
(Newser) - A Harvard scientist armed with great salesmanship and optimism has isolated a red wine ingredient he says will make humans live longer and healthier. Resveratrol may be the chemical at rainbow’s end in the quest to activate the SIRT1 gene, Technology Review reports; David Sinclair has shushed some doubters... More »

MORE ABOUT:
health • diabetes • wine • aging • life expectancy • red wine • resveratrol • SIRT1 • David Sinclair

Why Do New Yorkers Live Longer?

Could it be fast walking? Peer pressure? Sheer stubbornness?

Aug 13, 07 5:13 PM CDT
(Newser) - New Yorkers are living longer, and New York magazine wants to know why. Department of Health figures show the average Gothamite lives longer than the average American. It could be thanks to more and faster walking, the magazine says, but ultimately has more to do with the fact that the... More »

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health • New York City • life expectancy • exercise • lifespan

US Lags in Life Expectancy

America places 42nd, behind most developed countries; inequality, obesity blamed

Aug 12, 07 1:47 PM CDT
(Newser) - The US has slipped to 42nd place in international rankings of life expectancy, the AP reports. Two decades ago, the US was in 11th place. The downgrade is partially due to the fact that the more countries are included in the survey, but rising health insurance costs, skyrocketing obesity rates,... More »

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obesity • health care costs • infant mortality • life expectancy • racial inequality

The Moral-Hazard Myth

Why Our Insurance Systems Doesn't Work

Mar 18, 07 8:43 PM CDT
(Newser) - Malcolm Gladwell, author of The Tipping Point and Blink, examines the premise underlying U.S. health insurance known by the Dickensian term: Moral Hazard. The theory of Moral Hazard describes the notion that insurance can change peoples’ behavior. Without deductibles, co-payments and other barriers to use, people will use too... More »

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health care • health • health insurance • United States • immunization • Malcolm Gladwell • insurance • infant mortality • life expectancy

16 Stories


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