October 2003

Government says Americans are getting healthier

Americans live longer today than ever before, but diabetes is becoming a bigger problem, with a 27 percent increase in cases between 1997 and 2002, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ annual report on the nation’s health.

“Health United States, 2003” is a comprehensive report with the latest statistics from federal health agencies, the U.S. Census Bureau, population surveys and other data. The report was prepared by the National Center for Health Statistics.

According to the report, 6.5 percent of American adults were diagnosed with diabetes in 2002, compared to 5.1 percent in 1997. Other findings include:

• Average life expectancy reached a record high of 77.2 years in 2001, rising nearly two years since 1990.

• The birth rate for teenagers was the lowest in more than six decades: 45 births per 1,000 women aged 15 to 19.

• Eighty-three percent of mothers received prenatal care in the first trimester in 2001, up from 76 percent in 1990.

• Seventy-eight percent of all toddlers (19 to 35 months) completed a series of childhood vaccinations against infections diseases in 2002.

• Obesity has more than doubled from 15 percent in 1976-1980 to 31 percent in 1999-2000. Sixty-five percent of adults, ages 20-74, were overweight or obese in 1999-2000.

• Twenty-nine percent of high school students reported smoking cigarettes, compared to 36 percent in 1997, a reversal from an upward trend in the early 1990s.

The report is available online at http:www.cdc.gov/nchs.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, www.hhs.gov

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