New numbers just in on healthy living and eating bring some welcome news… Americans are living 12 months longer than just 10 years ago. American life expectancy went from 76.8 to 77.8 years according to new numbers.

So why are we living longer?

Fewer people are dying from cancers like breast, colon and prostate, heart disease and conditions like HIV. This is great news out of the HealthyPeople 2010 report. The program, which started back in 1980, sets challenging, measurable goals to boost the health of everyone. The 2010 incarnation aimed to increase our life span, how well we live as well as removing the disparities in health care.

The report is based on 733 health indicators, each that had a very ambitious quantifiable target. Data was collected during the 1990s and early 2000s, and then compared to recent information – 23% of the targets set back in November 2000 for HealthyPeople 2010 were met, 48% showed improvement.

That’s leaves just 24% of the indicators moving in the wrong direction – away from the goal. Diabetes and other problems associated with obesity still clearly need to be addressed. Solving the obesity issue will help people make strides in a huge number of health problems.

While HealthyPeople 2010 didn’t make impressive gains in lowering rates of obesity, diabetes, lack of exercise and disparities in health care, experts do find some good news in the latest numbers.

Prevention was another bright spot of the findings; the numbers of adults over 50 who’d been screened for colon cancer went from just 35% in 1998 to 55% in 2008 – beating the goal that had been set. Full immunizations for children aged 19 to 35 months old went from 73% in 1998 to 78% in 2008 – close to the target of 80%.

At least we’re talking about the issue, where ten years ago, it wasn’t part of the dialog.