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RFK Jr. fact check: Were Americans actually healthier decades ago?

By Selena Simmons-Duffin
Published June 8, 2025 at 7:38 AM MDT

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. frequently harkens back to when his uncle was president as a healthier time for Americans. But American life expectancy in 1960 was almost ten years shorter than it is today. And the leading causes of death were chronic diseases.

Copyright 2025 NPR
Selena Simmons-Duffin
Selena Simmons-Duffin reports on health policy for NPR.
See stories by Selena Simmons-Duffin