Lifestyle choices by residents of the United States are a main contributor to lower life expectancy than the advanced democracies. People living in the Unied States are more likely to be obese and die of heart disease than residents of the advanced democracies.

Female LIFESTYLE Risks

COLOR CODING
GreenRanked first for statistic
RedRanked last for statistic
FEMALESMeasured Obesity %Physical Inactivity %Teen Birth Rate per 1,000Abortion Rate per 1,000Heart Disease Mortality RateCigarette Mortality %
Australia29.3*33.68.114.244.410.5
Canada20.731.47.013.755.715.5
Denmark16.631.21.915.232.221.6
France15.234.09.517.438.98.2
Germany14.644.17.56.170.810.5
Italy10.846.24.010.053.98.9
Japan3.8*37.02.99.217.86.4
Netherlands14.929.02.89.725.616.7
Norway12.033.82.316.250.49.6
Sweden14.124.73.420.862.414.4
United Kingdom29.1*40.010.514.251.817.9
United States33.948.016.019.682.116.7

Sources

Measured Obesity Percent: OECD

Percent of female population. All from 2020 except Australia, Denmark, Germany (2017), France, Japan, Norway, United Kingdom (2019). Non-medical Determinants of Health > Body Weight.
**countries with measured data (not self-reported) are denoted with an asterisk

Physical Inactivity Percent: World Health Organization

Prevalence of insufficient physical activity among adults 18+ (age standardized estimates). 2016.

Teen Birth Rate per 1,000: World Bank

Births per 1,000 women ages 15-19. All data from 2021.

Abortion Rate per 1,000: UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs

World Abortion Policies 2013.
Rate per 1,000 women aged 15-44, 2008-2010.

Heart Disease Mortality Rates: OECD

Causes of mortality, ischemic heart disease (coronary heart disease), deaths per 100,000 females (standardized rates).

All data from 2020 except for Norway (2016), France, Italy (2017), Sweden (2018), Canada (2019).

Cigarette Mortality Percent: The Tobacco Atlas

Percent deaths caused by tobacco, 2019.

Alcohol Consumption

Female lifestyle risks does not include alcohol consumption while male lifestyle risks does. The range for female alcohol consumption goes from 2.8 liters per year of pure alcohol per capita ages 15+ to 5.9, while for men it goes from 11.6 to 21.3.  Women have far less risk from alcohol. Source of alcohol consumption.

Page updated on 8/31/2023.