Only one group of Americans is living longer

A recent study by Ellen R. Meara, a health economist at Harvard Medical School, found that in the 1980s and 1990s, "virtually all gains in life expectancy occurred among highly educated groups."

This from a NY TImes article.  Education makes a huge difference to longevity in the US because the obstacles to good health are systemic. Of course, the educated are also more likely to question whether this or that physician knows what he is talking about, to through these drug marketers' whims.  But mostly, the mass consumer culture is destructive of health and well-being.  In such an environment, in which traditional foods and physical labor uncommon, knowledge is the one thing that will save you. It takes an educated mind to cut through mass marketers' exhortations to buy junk food, and spend all your free time in front of the TV snacking.