The United States spends more per capita on health care than any place in the world but lags behind other wealthy nations in health and life expectancy, according to research published on Wednesday.

Japan still leads the world in terms of living the longest, with average life expectancy at 82.6 years in 2010, up from 79.1 years in 1990.

Americans are living longer too — an average of 78.2 years compared to 75.2 two decades ago — but were outpaced by other developed nations as the US ranking for life expectancy slid from 20th to 27th in the world.

Americans are also living with more health problems, ranging from chronic back pain to depression, said the study in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Disease and disability account for nearly half the health burden in the United States, and poor diet, smoking, high blood pressure and physical inactivity are leading risk factors, it said.

‘Individuals in the United States are living longer but are not necessarily in good health,’ said the study, called ‘The State of US Health, 1990-2010: Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors.’

The research is based on data from 34 countries and includes estimates for death and disability from 291 diseases, […]