“The U.S. has recently experienced a boomlet in good health news. In May 2024, the U.S. government reported that drug-overdose deaths fell 3 percent from 2022 to 2023, a rare bright spot in a century of escalating drug deaths. In June, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that traffic fatalities continued to decline after a huge rise in 2020 and 2021—and that this happened despite a rise in total vehicle miles traveled. In September, the U.S. government announced that the adult-obesity rate had declined in its most recent count, which ended in August 2023. Also in September, FBI analysis confirmed a double-digit decline in the national murder rate.

How rare is this inside straight of good news? Some government estimates—such as rates of obesity and overdose deaths—have reporting lags of one to two years, meaning that these causes of mortality are not necessarily all currently declining. Still, by my count, this year marks the first time in the 21st century that obesity, overdose deaths, traffic fatalities, and murders all declined in the official data analysis.”

From The Atlantic.