Infographic: Some Deaths Are Preventable

Modern medicine and research continue to increase life expectancy, but there are still many preventable deaths that take our loved ones away from us. As a matter of fact, the U.S. has a has the worst preventable death rate in the world. Though it is improving, this is happening at a rate far slower than other countries like France, Germany, and the UK.

We invite death into our lives through a lack of good nutrition, physical inactivity and excess weight. Nearly a fifth of the adult population continues to smoke despite its well-documented dangers, leading to death an average of ten years earlier than non-smokers.

Because of these bad living habits, Americans end up paying $2.4 trillion in health care every year. Medical malpractice causes 200,000 deaths each year that could have been prevented. This caused $3 billion in payouts just in 2012.