Personal behaviors can have a major influence on how long people live. Two especially damaging behaviors are smoking and the poor nutrition and exercise habits that result in obesity. Estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest that, in 2000, 15 percent of U.S. deaths...

SUMMARY Data concerning infant mortality in the Paris region during the 19th century are jar from reliable because many children were fostered in the countryside, so that the number of deaths (numerator) is reduced while that of births (denominator) is not. Errors due to this practice are not...

FrontMatter -- Acknowledgments -- Contents -- Summary -- 1 Difference Between Life Expectancy in the United States and Other High-Income Countries -- 2 Causes of Death, Health Indicators, and Divergence in Life Expectancy -- 3 The Role of Obesity -- 4 The Role of Physical Activity -- 5 The Role...