That standing drops to 10th place, however, when the UN Human Poverty Index for industrialized countries is applied. Gender and age have varying effects on health status. Men are more likely than women to die prematurely, largely as a result of heart disease, fatal unintentional injuries, cancer and suicide. Men are almost twice as likely as women to die before age 70. Although overall cancer death rates have declined in men, they have remained persistently stubborn among women, mainly due to increases in lung cancer mortality.
Teenage girls are now more likely than adolescent boys to smoke.
If increased rates of smoking among young women are not reversed, lung cancer rates among women will continue to climb. Rates of physical activity drop quickly as age increases, and males are more active than females in every age group. Boys and young men experience more unintentional injuries and more severe injuries than girls and young women. Young children, especially those who live in poor neighbourhoods, are most likely to suffer illnesses related to environmental toxins and second-hand smoke. Asthma has dramatically increased among young children in the last decade.