as dr. woolf said, this is over many decades. it includes not communicable diseases, injuries, motor vehicle fatalities. very different types of areas of health. so, the persistence across these very different domains was one of the really striking findings of the report. host: dr. woolf, "the new york times" put it in graphic form. younger americans have lower life expectancy than younger people and other countries and we more poorly than, for example, the older americans. you can see, this is your age and it shows you your life expectancy. why are younger americans especially in trouble? guest: we are actually concerned when we found they are in trouble in every age group, beginning at birth. our health disadvantage starts at birth. american babies are less likely to survive to their first birthday than babies born in other higher income countries. and other outcomes like low birth weight and prematurity more common. but it is not limited to that. american children are less likely to survive to age 5 then children and other cou

dr. steven woolf. >> having dessert -- having iserved a steady improvement, can report to you the state of the useful union is good. >> once again, keeping in a time-honored tradition, i have come to report to you on the state of the union. i am pleased to report america is much improved. there is good reason to believe that improvement will continue. >> my duty tonight is to report on the state of the union, not the state of our government, but of our american community. and to set forth our responsibilities to form a more perfect union. the state of the union is strong. >> our nation is at war. our economy is in recession. the civilized war faces unprecedented danger. the state of our union has never been stronger. >> it is because of our people that our future is hopeful, our journey goes forward. and the state of our union is stronger. tuesday, president obama delivers this year's address live with our preview program starting at 8:00 eastern and the president at 9:00, followed by the gop reaction. state of the union, to deny on c-span -- the state of the union, tuesday night on c-span