Recent studies from a science team at the Imperial College of London and the World Health Organization show new reports of life expectancy. The countries included in the study are either high-income countries or emerging economic countries. China, Russia, and India were not included due to a lack of adequate data. From 21 different tests, the research found that a few countries are expecting to see record life expectancy averages, while others, including the United States, seem to be falling behind. While most life expectancies of industrialized nations are going up, the U.S. is stagnating and is now on par with Mexico, Croatia and the Czech Republic, with the life expectancy of men expected to be 80 and women 83 by the year 2030. This stagnation is the result of the fact that the U.S. has the highest mortality rates of infants out of all the countries included in the study. The U.S. also has the highest obesity rates. Reports say that the west and east coasts of the United States have some of the best health care in the world, but that same quality is not as often found throughout the rest of the country. Michelle Hughes, Bettendorf resident, said, “It’s surprising to hear that since the University of Iowa runs one of the better hospitals in the country.”

There are also records being broken in other countries. South Korea is expected to have the highest life expectancy in the world by 2030, with women expected to live to 90. This would be the first time life expectancy for any country has ever reached the 90’s. Connor Hughes, junior, said, “That’s crazy to see because I know that a few years ago they were talking about how being in the mid 80’s was impressive.”

Hungary had the highest life expectancy for men, and South Korea was in second place. Professor Majid Ezzati, the lead researcher on the team, said, “We repeatedly hear that improvements in human longevity are about to come to an end. Many people used to believe that 90 years is the upper limit for life expectancy, but this research suggests we will break the 90-year-barrier. I don’t believe we’re anywhere near the upper limit of life expectancy, if there even is one.” The study also found the gap between women, who are typically expected to live longer, and men, to be diminishing.