Why Americans don’t live as long as Australians

Americans have a thing or two to learn from Australians when it comes to living a long life: their counterparts Down Under are outliving them by an average of five years.

In fact, Americans had a shorter life than any of the six English-speaking nations—the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand—that researchers from Penn State analysed.

On average, an American man can expect to live for 76.5 years and a woman for 81.5 years, while Australian men live for 80.5 years and women for 86.5 years.

The Irish have enjoyed a sudden jump in their life expectancy, with men likely to live an additional eight years.  This should give Americans hope that improving life expectancy is possible, the researchers say.

Life expectancy levels in the US are skewed by the high rate of deaths among the young, either from drug overdosing, car accidents or homicide, but those who survive those early threats tend to live sedentary lives, become obese, and eat unhealthy diets, which also reduce their chances of a long life.

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