WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - According to forecasting models from the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, the U.S. is going to experience minor changes in life expectancy over the next few years.
The analysis, published in The Lancet, stated that life expectancy is expected to increase from 78.3 years in 2022 to 80.4 years in 2050. Gender-wise, life expectancy of women is estimated to improve less than that of men.
'In spite of modest increases in life expectancy overall, our models forecast health improvements slowing down due to rising rates of obesity, which is a serious risk factor to many chronic diseases and forecasted to leap to levels never before seen,' senior author Christopher Murray, director of IHME, noted.
'The rise in obesity and overweight rates in the U.S., with IHME forecasting over 260 million people affected by 2050, signals a public health crisis of unimaginable scale.'
The forecasts further stated that it predicts nearly 550,000 fewer deaths in 2050 alone if the U.S. works on improving environment, behavioral and metabolic risks, and childhood nutrition and vaccination.
The U.S. is also expected to struggle with life expectancy gains, dragging the nation to 66th position out of 204 countries in 2050 in terms of overall life expectancy, compared to 49th position in 2022.
'The rapid decline of the U.S. in global rankings from 2022 to 2050 rings the alarm for immediate action. The U.S. must change course and find new and better health strategies and policies that slow down the decline in future health outcomes,' urged Dr. Stein Emil Vollset, co-senior author and affiliate professor with IHME.
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