Study: Americans Are In Poor Health Compared To Residents Of Other Wealthy Nations

By Hadas Kuznits

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - A new study from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Research Council and Institute of Medicine reveals discouraging news about the state of the health of American citizens.

Ana Diez Roux, a member of the panel involved with the study says 17 countries of comparable wealth were evaluated in terms of health and quality of life:

"What we found was that despite being a very wealthy country and spending more on healthcare than any other country in the world, Americans live less and also suffer more adverse health outcomes than residents of other high-income countries."

Roux says they investigated a variety of factors from infant mortality, to sexually transmitted diseases, to car accident deaths:

"An important finding was that this health disadvantage is present across many different kinds of health conditions."

She says some aspect of American life might not seem as though they impact health but:

"Things like urban development policies that promote automobile transportation that may have health consequences through impacts on physical activity and traffic related mortality."