Smoking, obesity why US lifespans lag a bit

The benefits of being first.

The U.S. spends more on health care than any other nation yet has worse life expectancy than many — and a new report blames smoking and obesity.

That may sound surprising, considering that public smoking is being stamped out here while it's common in parts of Europe. And obesity is a growing problem around the world.

But the U.S. led those unhealthy trends, lighting up and fattening up a few decades ahead of other high-income countries. And the long-term consequences are life expectancy a few years shorter than parts of Europe and Japan, the National Research Council reported Tuesday.

Lucky US.