Americans women are more vulnerable and face a greater risk of diseases, finds new study

According to new research by the American Medical Association, Americans spend more time being sick than people in other nations. The study that was published in the journal JAMA Network Open reveals that an American lives with diseases on average for 12.4 years, to be precise. Moreover, women are at a much higher risk (of catching diseases) compared to men. 

The data reveals that among the most common problems that the average American lives with are mental illness, substance use disorder, and musculoskeletal conditions. Apparently, the authors of this study used a method known as the healthspan-lifespan gap that determines an individual's overall lifespan compared to the number of years lived while fighting some kind of disease. 

For their study, they used data from the 183 member states of the World Health Organization and found that the overall healthspan-lifespan gap has increased over the course of the last two decades across the globe. Previously, the average health span-lifespan gap was 9.6 years, whereas in the United States, it was 12.4 years which is the largest in any country, as per The Guardian. 

Meanwhile, women overall exhibited a higher healthspan-lifespan gap of 2.6 years as compared to men, increasing from 12.2 to 13.7 years which the study says is "associated with a disproportionately larger burden of noncommunicable diseases in women." The authors explained, "A sex difference was observed with women presenting a mean healthspan-lifespan gap of 2.4 (0.5) years wider than men." They continued, "These results underscore that around the world, while people live longer, they live a greater number of years burdened by disease. To identify drivers of the healthspan-lifespan gap, associated demographic, health, and economic characteristics need to be investigated by geography." The latest overall healthspan-lifespan gap in the US has increased from 10.9 years in 2000 to 12.4 years in 2024. 

In a 2023 article from The Harvard Gazette, experts blamed the rise in obesity and consumption of ultra-processed foods as the culprit in the increase of chronic health illnesses. According to the Centers for Disease Control, over 40% of Americans are obese due to which most of them are at a higher risk of catching chronic issues like Type 2 diabetes, heart disorders, and a life-threatening disease, like cancer. 

Kevin Hall, senior investigator at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases at NIH, conducted research on their participants who were given diets containing processed foods or unprocessed diets for two weeks, followed by an alternative diet. "We found that people consuming the ultra-processed foods ate about 500 calories per day more over the two weeks. They gained weight and gained body fat. And when they were on the minimally processed diet, they spontaneously lost weight and lost body fat."

So, can a healthier lifestyle and eating habits improve the quality of life in Americans? National Institutes of Health (NIH) experts found out that those who adopted and maintained five healthy lifestyle habits managed to live longer and better. The research led by Frank Hu at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health analyzed data from more than 78,000 women and 44,000 men and found that people who stick to a balanced diet, didn't smoke, engaged in at least 3.5 hours of physical activity each week, consumed little to no alcohol, and maintained their weight were able to live healthier and longer. 

Women who adopted this lifestyle also saw an increase in their lifespan from 79 years to 93 years. Meanwhile, independently, each of these five habits lowered the risk of total death, death from cancer, and death from heart disease.