Examining Americans' health: Longer, but sicker, lives; Childhood obesity drops

A new report finds Americans may be living longer thanks to medical advances, but they may also be sicker. Meanwhile, childhood obesity may be dropping in several cities around the nation.

USA Today: Health Rankings: USA Is Living Longer, But Sicker
Americans are living longer, with fewer deaths from heart disease and cancer, but more chronic illnesses, an annual snapshot of the USA's health shows. The 2012 America's Health Rankings highlight troubling levels of obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and sedentary behavior. Medical advances are allowing more people to live with those conditions (Healy, 12/11).

The New York Times: Obesity In Young Is Seen As Falling In Several Cities
The trend has emerged in big cities like New York and Los Angeles, as well as smaller places like Anchorage, Alaska, and Kearney, Neb. The state of Mississippi has also registered a drop, but only among white students. … The drops are small, just 5 percent here in Philadelphia and 3 percent in Los Angeles. But experts say they are significant because they offer the first indication that the obesity epidemic, one of the nation's most intractable health problems, may actually be reversing course (Tavernise, 12/10).