Explaining the longevity gap b/w the US and other affluent countries

This is one way.

Dr. Samuel Preston (after whom the Preston curve is named) says that the US health care system isn’t the reason for the longevity divide between the US (78 years) and countries like Japan (83 years). Instead, he says, other factors like obesity and the formerly heavy smoking rate among Americans are to blame. The NYT’s John Tierney has a nice summary of the paper here.