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It strikes me that "Life Expectancy at Birth" is the wrong measure. I suspect (and would like to see the stats) that the USA has a higher mortality rate below age 40 than other western countries but that it levels out after that.

But is life expectancy the end all and be all. At age 98 my aunt, who was of sound mind and body, was informed she'd probably live to be a 100. Her response? "Oh, God, I hope not." She lived to 102, aware and cognizant to the end.

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>I suspect (and would like to see the stats) that the USA has a higher mortality rate below age 40 than other western countries but that it levels out after that

The USA has a lower than average life expectancy at age 65, and the life expectancy has also grown less than average for that group, according to the OECD[1]

EDIT: >But is life expectancy the end all and be all I agree there. The same document includes a "healthy life years at age 65" (only for European countries though), but it is arguably a much less objective measurement and hence less useful.

[1] http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/docserver/download/8111101ec066...

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