life expectancy – News Stories About life expectancy - Page 4

Mar 18, 2009 2:09 AM CDT

Study: Obesity as Bad as Smoking

Being extremely overweight can trim a decade from lifespans

(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—...

Do Deciders Age Prematurely?

Jan 4, 2009 5:22 PM CST

Do Deciders Age Prematurely?

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

(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...

Drug Revolution Boosts
HIV Survival Rates

Jul 25, 2008 3:20 AM CDT

Drug Revolution Boosts HIV Survival Rates

Early diagnosis is vital

(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...

Red Wine Linked
to Longer Life

Jun 4, 2008 5:19 AM CDT

Red Wine Linked to Longer Life

Grape ingredient could be used for anti-aging drugs

(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...

Life Grows Shorter for America's Poor

Apr 22, 2008 10:40 AM CDT

Life Grows Shorter for America's Poor

Smoking, obesity blamed for spread of 'death gap'

(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....

Gene Tweaking Dramatically Extends Life

Jan 14, 2008 5:33 PM CST

Gene Tweaking Dramatically Extends Life

Altered yeast microbes live 10 times longer than control group

(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...

UN: Iceland Best Place to Live

Nov 27, 2007 1:21 PM CST

UN: Iceland Best Place to Live

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

(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...

US Life Expectancy Hits Record

Sep 12, 2007 4:58 PM CDT

US Life Expectancy Hits Record

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

(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...

In Vino ...
a Fountain
of Youth?

Aug 30, 2007 5:46 AM CDT

In Vino ... a Fountain of Youth?

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

(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...

Why Do New Yorkers Live Longer?

Aug 13, 2007 5:13 PM CDT

Why Do New Yorkers Live Longer?

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

(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...

US Lags in Life Expectancy

Aug 12, 2007 1:47 PM CDT

US Lags in Life Expectancy

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

(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,...

The Moral-Hazard Myth

Mar 18, 2007 8:43 PM CDT

The Moral-Hazard Myth

Why Our Insurance Systems Doesn't Work

(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...