Researchers analyzed government-gathered burden of disease data from 1990 to 2010 across 187 countries for 291 diseases and 67 risk factors for disease.
They found that United States combined life expectancy went from 75.2 to 78.2 years between 1990 and 2010 compared to healthy life expectancy’s jump from 65.8 to 68.1 years. The United States fell, however, in life expectancy rankings among developed countries, and United States population health advances were behind those of other countries.
Chronic conditions were less often causes of death in 2010 than in 1990, but people were living longer with and had more life years affected by chronic disease in 2010.
The single most important risk factor for years lived with disability was poor dietary habits. Disability adjusted life years due to high BMI increased on average by 45 percent between 1990 and 2010, with higher increases in some parts of the southern United States.
Diseases contributing most to years of life lived with disability were ones that are often associated with poor diet and low fitness levels, including low back pain, major depressive disorder, other musculoskeletal disorders, neck pain and anxiety disorders.
The morbidity and chronic disability that account for half of U.S. health burden appeared to be largely preventable through improvements in diet and exercise habits and a lowering of BMIs across the country.
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