The gap in life expectancy between women and men is closing!

Women and men are living longer & staying more active. With fewer deaths from major causes such as heart disease and cancer Americans' are now on average living to a record 77.6 years. The gap in life expectancy between women and men is closing!

Women now have a life expectancy of 80.1 years, 5.3 more than men and the gap is narrowing.

How this will affect Social Security is a cause for speculation says Mary A. Salmon, a sociology professor at the University of North Carolina.

The hot topic in Washington and elsewhere is the Bush government’s plan to change Social Security, which is in financial crisis because of increased life expectancy, lower birth rates and aging baby boomers.

The death rate in the United States is decreasing and overall life expectancy increasing.

Americans, according to statistics from the World Health Organization trails behind Japan, Monaco, San Marino, Switzerland, Australia, Andorra, and Iceland.

Austria, Belgium, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Spain and the United Kingdom also have longer life expectancy than the U.S.

2003 saw the decline in deaths from the biggest killers- cancer & heart disease.

The death rate for stroke, chronic respiratory diseases, flu and pneumonia ,accidents, and suicides also dropped.

The death rate for Alzheimer's, for hypertension Parkinson's and kidney disease did however rise.

Murder among the top causes of death in the United States has been replaced by Parkinson's deaths.

White death rates declined 2.1 percent for men and 1.2 percent for women; black death rates were down 2.5 percent for men and 2.4 percent for women; Hispanic males saw a 4.2 percent drop and Hispanic women. 1.8 percent decline.