Live Longer, But Die Sicker
We may be living longer. But we're not living healthier. That's the result of a recent study of the U.S. population that's the largest in 15 years, according to the WSJ's Ron Winslow. Compared to other developed nations, "death rates from illnesses associated with obesity, such as diabetes and kidney disease, as well as neurological conditions like Alzheimer's disease, are on the rise" here, Winslow reports. Winslow, who interviewed the researcher who led the study, Christopher Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington in Seattle., quoted him as saying, "Despite gains in longevity, Americans are living the extra years 'not necessarily in good health.'" Why? We're getting larger. The rates of many illnesses, like heart disease and cancer, are more and more being linked to obesity, while those of diabetes and kidney failure, which are known outcomes of obesity, are so...