¶ … generation in the U.S. could expect to live longer than their parents yet presently the life expectancy of women in the U.S. is decreasing; my question: Can a nation of unhealthy people be globally competitive?

First of all, we as Americans must consider why the life expectancy of women is decreasing -- not because of an increased threat of epidemic diseases but because of lifestyle issues. These lifestyle issues are to some extent plaguing the entire world -- obesity, inactivity, heart disease, high blood pressure are all becoming more common in China and India, as people are able to use their affluence to eat more high-fat food, particularly meats and processed foods, and to move less. In the United States and to a lesser extent in other nations, there is also a great divide between the haves and the have-nots. Some people have health care, access to healthy food, and access to gyms, while others have fast food places, bodegas without produce, and crime-ridden streets without sidewalks. Thus the have-nots are becoming unhealthier because of the gulf in income and opportunities, and even many haves are using their wealth to eat too much and drive cars rather than walk.

Mens sana, corpus sana: sound mind, sound body. A sound mind requires a sound body. A sluggish person has less energy to take risks, less bodily confidence, and often lower self-esteem. An unhealthy nation runs up high health care bills and grows old quickly. It is important that we as a society treat these symptoms of inactivity, but we must also treat the causes -- inequality, the rampant growth of consumption and technology that robs of us of our mobility and shackles us to computers and televisions, and the fact that factory-produced meat or commercially advertised products rather than real food is seen as the normal thing to eat. We must change our lifestyles -- cook food rather than buy it, walk rather than drive as fast as possible -- to be able to enjoy and maintain our unique prosperity as a nation.