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

By Selena Simmons-Duffin

Published June 8, 2025 at 9:38 AM EDT

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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.

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Selena Simmons-Duffin

Selena Simmons-Duffin reports on health policy for NPR.

See stories by Selena Simmons-Duffin