A new study finds Americans are getting sicker at a higher rate and are more likely to die earlier than residents in other high-income countries. A study from the National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine says the United States ranks near the bottom in key areas of health such as infant mortality, obesity, drug-related deaths and HIV, despite being the world's richest nation by household assets. The life expectancy numbers for men and women in the U.S. at 76 and 81, respectively, also rank either last or next to last out of the 17 countries in the study.