By Maggie Fox

Americans may worry about pollution and harmful chemicals in their air and water, but a new study of the major causes of death confirms what most doctors know: We are our own worst enemies.

The leading causes of death have to do with bad habits, including smoking, poor diet and a lack of exercise, the report from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington finds.

By The Data Team

OVER the past 100 years, mankind has made great leaps in eliminating diseases and learning how to keep people alive. The life expectancy of a person born in America in 1900 was just 47 years. Eighty years later that figure had increased to 70 years for men and 77 years for women. But since then progress has slowed: a boy born in America in 2013 is expected to live just six years longer than his 1990 cohort. And not all of his twilight years will be golden.

By Amy  Vanderzanden

Cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer death for women in 40 of the 48 countries of sub-Saharan Africa, according to the most reliable health statistics.

After rising for decades, calorie consumption has declined in recent years as public attitudes have shifted.

By Margot Sanger-Katz

After decades of worsening diets and sharp increases in obesity, Americans’ eating habits have begun changing for the better.