New research from the Stanford Center on Longevity finds the biggest change in the health of individual Americans over the past 15 years is neither improvement nor decline — it’s divergence. Americans aren’t simply becoming healthier or unhealthier; people are moving in both directions at the same time. Over the 15-year span, some Americans have adopted healthier lifestyles such as better diets and exercise, while others have accumulated additional risks, such as increased alcohol consumption and eating more fast food. Polarizing behavior is most evident among adults age 65 and older, with older Americans recording some of the largest gains in health-promoting behaviors as well as the largest increases in health-damaging behaviors of any age group. 

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