The U.S. Life Expectancy Has Dropped for First Time in Decades

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For the first time in over 20 years, the U.S. has seen a drop in overall life expectancy, further confirmation of a decline in health in different racial populations.

multicultural latino teens sitting restaurantLatino life expectancy remained about the same from 2014 to 2015.

“This is a big deal,” said Philip Morgan, a demographer at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill in an interview with NPR. “There’s not a better indicator of well-being than life expectancy.”

“The fact that it is leveling off in the U.S. is a striking finding.”

Latinos are the nation’s largest racial and ethnic minority group. As a population they are expected to grow from 1 in 6 people today to 1 in 4 by 2035 and 1 in 3 by 2060.

As Latinos are becoming a growing “force” in all facets of life, the life expectancy of Americans overall is greatly impacted by Latinos.

Many factors are looked at as point toward the drop in life expectancy.

Among them are the obesity epidemic, which disproportionately affects Latinos. Deaths from heart disease, strokes, diabetes, and possibly Alzheimer’s have all been linked to obesity.

“When you see increases in so many of the leading causes of death, it’s difficult to pinpoint one particular cause as the culprit,” said Robert Anderson, chief of the mortality statistics branch at the National Center for Health Statistics. “There is a chance that the latest data, from 2015, could be a one-time blip.”

By The Numbers By The Numbers

142

Percent

Expected rise in Latino cancer cases in coming years

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