If there was no difference in behavior at all between all of the people of the USA, I think you'd still see pockets of more and less progress, just due to the natural distribution of dying. I'm curious what the expected variance by zip code would be if everyone's behavior was identical.
As the article states, some countries are making more progress than the USA on modifiable risks, such as smoking. Australia is one such country. If advertising health were as profitable as advertising vices, we'd be in better shape.
It's not just lack of progress, in some areas it is regression.
You state this obvious factor as if it were immutable. The article addresses it, unsurprisingly, and provides examples that at least suggest progress can be made to limit it.
As the article states, some countries are making more progress than the USA on modifiable risks, such as smoking. Australia is one such country. If advertising health were as profitable as advertising vices, we'd be in better shape.