Experts fromTulane University, theCDC, University of Oxford, University of Washington, and Syracuse Universitydiscusswhat life expectancyactually measures, howthese valuesarecalculated, why the United States is falling behind other countries, and what individuals and policymakers can do to improve American life expectancy.
Any changes in life expectancyarecoveredin the news, as was recently shownwhen.Itis often unclear, however, why gainingor losinga yearoflife expectancyas acountryactuallymatters, or whatthesevaluesreallysayabout the health ofindividuals. Reporting also often highlights the United States’ low life expectancy,well behind most other wealthy countries. Why is America’s life expectancy so poor—and what can we do to fix it?
OnFebruary 25, 2026, the National Academy of Medicine’sHealth in the Headlinesseriesbrought togetherexperts in demography, epidemiology, health equity, and public policyfor adiscussion, moderated byof Tulane University,to define what life expectancymeasuresactually capture, highlight positive and concerning trends, and discuss what these statisticsrevealabout the health of our nation and the globe.
This articleoutlinessixkey takeawaysfrom the discussion, including how life expectancy is calculated, what makes it change,what it really saysabout the health of a region,and what individuals and policymakers can do to improveit.
Life Expectancy Captures a Snapshot in Time for the Entire American Population—It Isn’t a Crystal Ball
The term“life expectancy” is often misinterpreted.When asked to define life expectancy as simply as possible,explained thatthisnumberestimateshow long ahypothetical personborntoday would live,assuming mortality ratesstayedexactlythesameastheyare inare inthecurrent year.Forexample, life expectancycalculated in 2020 wouldincorporatethemortalityimpacts of COVID-19as if they persistedacross the entirety ofahypothetical person’s life—.Life expectancy isalsoan average,andtheUS’scomparativelylowervaluereflectsa higher fraction ofpeople dying before 65than other countries,which brings down the average length of life.
emphasized that life expectancystatisticsaren’tintuitive because theydon’tpredict the lifespan ofanyindividual—theyareasnapshot ofmortalitylevels for the populationin a given year.added that life expectancy can beaffectedby periods ofincreasedmortality. For example, during a war,moreyounger peopledie than during peace time, solife expectancygoesdown. Thelife expectancydropdoesn’tmeanthateveryone in the countryhas lost years of lifespan, but itappearsdramaticsinceit’sbeen soimpactedby the large numbers of earlydeaths.
“So life expectancy in 2024 assumes that person experiences the mortality rates of that year throughout their life. Life expectancy is really an indicator of current mortality—not the future.”
-Bob Anderson
Life Expectancy as a Barometer of Population Health
The panelists emphasizedthat mortality riskdoesn’tjust come fromindividual actions like smoking, exercise, or eating habits; the broader social and economic contextcan also havea big impact. These factors can rangefromthe minimum wage ratetowhether you can buy alcohol on a Sunday.noted that state policies significantlyimpactlifeexpectancy,providingConnecticut and Oklahomaas an example—states that had the.Connecticut has, since 1980, raised tobacco taxes, offered earned income tax credits, and raised their minimum wage, and. Conversely, Oklahoma, over the same period, has rolled back economic protections and firearm laws, and.
Mokdad expanded on howsocioeconomicfactors notdirectly relatedto health canimpactlifeexpectancy, beginning with education., and are also. Geography also plays a rolein accessing health care, aspeoplewho live in a city arelikelyphysicallycloser to a hospital if they have a life-threatening event like a heart attack, compared tothosewho live in more rural areas and may need to travel hours to access care,increasing their chance of death in an emergency.All ofthese factorsimpacthealth, well-being, and mortality and therebyimpactlife expectancy.
Dowd noted that eventhanpeoplein other countries withless socioeconomic advantage—suggesting that it may be hard toavoidpervasivehealth risks in theUSForexample,it is difficult to fully escape thepublic health impacts of theAmerican food system, and money cannot shield you fromneighborsusingfirearms or driving dangerously.Dowd encouraged researchers to consider these broad environments when thinking about policy changes to improve life expectancy.
“Our health and longevity is driven in part by forces outside our control. For example, we are impacted by economic policies, other people’s driving, air pollution, water pollution, and more. It’s not just an individual responsibility.”
– Jennifer Karas Montez
When Life Expectancy Does Increase, It ٴDZ’tRise for Everyone
Underlying much of the conversation was the acknowledgment that even thoughUSlife expectancy is rising—albeitslowly—many populations are being left behind. Disparities exist acrossnearly everypopulation type, includingrace,sex, geographic location, andlevel ofeducation. Montez explained thatpeoplewithout a four-year college degree——.Mokdad noted a study he and his colleagues conducted on Seattle’s King County, where they foundup to. Anderson shared that historically,AsianAmericanand Hispanic American populations have higher life expectancy than African American and Native American/Alaska Nativepopulations, although thesedisparitieswere significantlyimpactedby COVID-19.Furthermore,mengenerally.These disparities persist across time and, the panelists emphasized, are areas of criticalconcernthat overall gains in life expectancy obscure.
“Our average is improving, but not all of us are improving at the same rate.”
– Ali Mokdad
The USis Doing Poorly—And Things May Be Getting Worse
The newUSlife expectancy record of 79 years, although much lauded,actually barelysurpassedtheUSmeasureof.This new high also comes afternearly adecade of no improvements, asSuchincremental improvements stand in stark contrast to peer countries like Denmark, who have raised their life expectancy 3 years between 2010 and 2023 ()andJapan, who raised theirs.Furthermore,this recordUSlife expectancy isstilllower thanalmost allpeer nations—soit may not be time to celebrate yet.
USlife expectancy has beendivergingfrom peer countriessince 1980.The opioid epidemic, but so haveincreasesinmajorcauses ofdeath, includingcardiovascular disease.Significantreductionsin deaths due to cardiovascular disease boostedAmerican life expectancy for decades, butTheslight increase in these deaths plusthe addition of deaths due to the opioid epidemic have contributed toourstagnatinglife expectancy. Complicating the picture even furtheristheUS’sattributable toincreased deaths by motor vehicle crashes, firearms, and substanceuse.
“The picture is really that the US is treading water while other countries are sprinting ahead.”
– Jennifer Beam Dowd
Dowd noted that there ishope,becauseother countries are still increasing their life expectancy.Since other nations are improving,there is no biological limit that is hindering America’s improvement, and if we can surpass the current human and social constraints standing in our way, improvingUSlife expectancy is possible.
Life Expectancy Cannot Be Addressed witha Single Policy. Thankfully,There Are Many Ways to Help.
Since life expectancyisimpactedby so many aspects of everyday life, no single policy will be able toreverse thetrajectory.Montez noted that since state policies impacta broad swath of everyday life, includingeconomic well-being(minimum wage laws and property taxes),behaviors(alcohol and firearm laws and cigarette taxes),access to healthcare(insurance policies and other programs),and family structure(abortion laws and paid and family leave),theycanlikely move the needle onUSlife expectancy.Specifically, policies related to workmay make the biggest impact, as having a stable job has cascading positive effects like being able to afford a homeandpay for healthcare, reducing stress, andperhaps evenreducing unhealthy coping mechanisms—all of which directly or indirectly impact individual health.
“There is no single policy that will get us out of this. The best-case scenario is that we take a full approach and try and address everything from structural issues, like state policies, all the way down to individual behaviors.”
– Jennifer Karas Montez
Dowd added that communicating the loss of a year or more in life expectancy in terms of actual people and lives is critical to ensuring continued focuson this issue.thatif America’s life expectancy matched that of 21 other peer nationsin 2020 and 2021, 2.1 million lives would have been saved. Dowd noted that metrics like these make vague statistics more real and could be valuable in explaining the importance of these values topeopleand policymakers.
What Can Individuals and Policymakers Do?
The panelists agreed that the greatest impact individuals can have on life expectancy is to adopt healthy behaviors in their own lives, including quitting smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, and fostering robust relationships with friends and family. For policymakers, the panelists encouraged the pursuit of policies to support K-12 education, healthy and affordable food, and well-paying jobs, as these investments would have cascading positive effects for health and mortality.
“I want to encourage people to recognize that we are all in this together and to think about what you can do at your local level to motivate some of these changes that we feel will have long-term benefits.”
– Jennifer Beam Dowd
Watch a recording of the full discussion aboutlife expectancybelow.
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