Decline in Good Health

The self-reported health of working-age Americans has been trending downward for years, according to data collected by the CDC's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. The 2010 data, released today, continues to show the downward slide in the percentage of prime working-age adults who say their health is "very good" or "excellent." The biggest decline has been among 25-to-34-year-olds, a 4.2 percentage point decline over the past 10 years...

Percent reporting their health as very good or excellent:

	2010	2000	change
Total	54.6	56.2	-1.6
18 to 24	62.6	62.8	-0.2
25 to 34	62.9	67.1	-4.2
35 to 44	60.0	63.2	-3.2
45 to 54	54.4	56.4	-2.0
55 to 64	51.6	49.1	2.5
65 or older	40.7	36.2	4.5

Source: CDC, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, Prevalence and Trends Data