[originaltext] A new study by the National Research Council and the Institut

A new study by the National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine compares the health of Americans to their international counterparts, and the results are bleak. Americans, regardless of their status or background, live shorter lives and experience more injuries and illnesses than their peers in almost any other high-income country.(19)The 378-page report goes further than previous studies in comparing death rates and health policies for Americans across all age groups: previous studies have tended to focus on older ages. So why exactly is that the case? The report examines "the role of underlying social values and public policies" in America’s lagging health statistics,(20)identifying a range of factors including individual behavior, social and economic status, education and income, environment and public health policies. What its authors sought to emphasize was that it was not the work of any one of these single issues in isolation, but the combined effect of these factors that have resulted in this great disadvantage.(21)Americans were more likely to "engage in certain unhealthy behaviors that increase the risk of fatal injuries," according to the report—including those caused by car accidents, gun violence and drug overdoses. These risks, coupled with other well-known factors such as higher caloric intake and the highest diabetes rate of any country on the list, all combined to make Americans lead shorter and more unhealthy lives.(22)For the authors of the report, the most distressing aspects of the findings were not that "the United States is losing a contest with other countries, but that Americans are dying and suffering from illnesses and injury at rates that are demonstrably unnecessary."
19. What is the difference between previous studies and the new study?
20. What factors are mentioned as causes for Americans disadvantage in health and life expectancy?
21. What risk of fatal injuries is mentioned in the passage?
22. What is the most distressing aspect of the findings for the authors of the report?