Amidst all the attention being placed on health insurance these days, it's crucial not to lose focus on the fact that the United States is lagging behind other countries across the globe in terms of life expectancy.

The recently published report, "U.S. Health in International Perspectives: Shorter Lives, Poorer Health," demonstrates not only how low our life expectancy is relative to other developed countries, but also how far we have fallen even in the last 30 years.

Why are we not realizing the same gains as countries with comparable incomes?

Dr. Mike has three possible reasons why we don't live as long as other cultures.