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Why Is the United States So Sick?

RDS

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Almost everything including fast food, obesity, smoking, drinking etc.
In the wake of a startling report highlighting the United States’ poor health compared with other wealthy nations, the report’s director searches for answers.

Americans die younger and experience more injury and illness than people in other rich nations, despite spending almost twice as much per person on health care. That was the startling conclusion of a major report released earlier this year by the U.S. National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine.

It received widespread attention. The New York Times concluded: "It is now shockingly clear that poor health is a much broader and deeper problem than past studies have suggested."
Health in the U.S. and other rich countries: We pay more in health care but are sicker. - Slate Magazine
 
We have a lot of unhealthy habits. Smoking is going down, but obesity is going up. Compared to other nations I don't think we have a major problem with alcohol and smoking is improving, but the obesity/poor diet aspect is weighing in heavily when it comes to diabetes and heart disease.
 
I'd say it comes down to culture.


We're a TV nation. Ever been outside the US? Not only are the people less fat, they're much more active. The average 40 year old German or French guy could run circles around the average American of the same age.


So many folks here think they are in goof shape, but most I've seen cant even jog a mile without stopping multiple times, wheezing like they're asthmatic and near death.


I'd say that would account for a lot.
 
I'd say it comes down to culture.


We're a TV nation. Ever been outside the US? Not only are the people less fat, they're much more active. The average 40 year old German or French guy could run circles around the average American of the same age.


So many folks here think they are in goof shape, but most I've seen cant even jog a mile without stopping multiple times, wheezing like they're asthmatic and near death.


I'd say that would account for a lot.

It might be because they don't have to drive everywhere but can walk/bike there.
 
because sell fake food and then extorsion for the resulting sickness is the most profitable....................
 
I do think a big part of it is profit. Fast food, big money...
 
Think it could be related to the crappy state of preventive health care for most of the US population and the absence of universal care???

Gee. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to see the answer. But please, continue to patter on about fast food.
 
I think it's more related to the method they are using for the comparison and the fact that there is no other pool of nations where we can do a direct like vs like comparison. The size and scale of the US is unmatched by all but India and China.
 
"Why Is the United States So Sick?"

Because most of comparisons are really of the apples-to-oranges variety. The USA is enormous and diverse, it has large immigrant population with a particular genetic profile, it has cultural differences between regions, etc, etc.

If you compare comparable things, like Finland and Sweden versus New Hampshire and Minnesota, the "health gap" pretty much disappears.

I don't mean to say that our health care system is adequate: it is horrible, and in urgent need of reform (even more now, with the idiocy of Obamacare doing its systemic damage). We are not beginning to live up to our extraordinary potential.

It's just that making head-to-head comparisons between Luxemburg and North Little Rock, Arkansas is ...well, stupid.
 
How much we spend on healthcare is irrelevant. Some of the highest users of healthcare are people who have very risky lifestyles. Claiming that because they spend a let on healthcare but are sicker, therefore means they have worse healthcare, is just the usual brain-dead propaganda. I can assure you that a a professional athlete runs up a higher medical bill than the average person at an earlier age, not because our healthcare is bad, but because they are you know, engaging in a risky lifestyle. So as people have rightly pointed out, our average lifestyle is not very healthy. That we spend a lot to try and offset that is understandable. I think it will eventually improve, but it takes generations to see the results, and then make those changes.
 
But an athete is in great shape, which may reduce overall and long term cost. Which risky lifestyles are you talking about and do you have any references? Not having a universal healthcare system is one big problem.
How much we spend on healthcare is irrelevant. Some of the highest users of healthcare are people who have very risky lifestyles. Claiming that because they spend a let on healthcare but are sicker, therefore means they have worse healthcare, is just the usual brain-dead propaganda. I can assure you that a a professional athlete runs up a higher medical bill than the average person at an earlier age, not because our healthcare is bad, but because they are you know, engaging in a risky lifestyle. So as people have rightly pointed out, our average lifestyle is not very healthy. That we spend a lot to try and offset that is understandable. I think it will eventually improve, but it takes generations to see the results, and then make those changes.
 
Why Is the United States So Sick?

1. we live in the world's kitchen, and we are genetically programmed to eat as much as possible because of tens of thousands of years of feast or famine conditions. for the first time in human history, endless amounts of food are available all year around, and it takes little money and almost no caloric effort to obtain it. add in the fact that most work has become sedentary. these factors are why nearly everyone is overweight, and many are obese.

2. medical care is very expensive, so we avoid seeing the doctor until it's so bad that we have to see a doctor. most people avoid physicals because they can be expensive, inconvenient, and many of us just don't want to know. result : preventable and treatable illnesses become chronic and often life threatening, and then they become more difficult and expensive to manage.

number one is pretty difficult to solve, because we can't force people to exercise, nor should we. number two can be addressed by a complete redesign of our failing health care model.

will we do that? no. what can you do personally? eat right, exercise a lot, get checked out, and hope that you don't get sick in the US.
 
I would say the major point is that many countries practice preventive medicine while we dont.

What is preventative medicine? Seriously, what is it?

You mean like being so poor that you can't afford an abundance of food and thus you don't become fat? Or not being able to afford mechanized transportation so you have to walk everywhere?

The only preventive medicine that I know if is a decent diet and plenty of exercise. It's possible that we don't practice preventative medicine because we are too wealthy to be bothered by such.
 
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Think it could be related to the crappy state of preventive health care for most of the US population and the absence of universal care???

Gee. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to see the answer. But please, continue to patter on about fast food.

What does universal health care have to do with diet and exercise? No doc can give you a pill for that, and no nurse can give you a shot for that.

Oh, are you saying that things like taking blood presure medication is preventative care? It's not. It's being treated for an existing condition called "high blood pressure". Being treated for an illness is not preventative.
 
You probably ought to look it up before you say more. The best spent money in healthcare goes into preventative medicine.
What is preventative medicine? Seriously, what is it?

You mean like being so poor that you can't afford an abundance of food and thus become really skinny? Or not being able to afford mechanized transportation so you have to walk everywhere? Or not having a 55" tv and a comfy couch to lay in as you watch it?

The only preventive medicine that I know if is a decent diet and plenty of exercise. It's possible that we don't practice preventative medicine because we are too wealthy to be bothered by such.

est
 
What does universal health care have to do with diet and exercise? No doc can give you a pill for that, and no nurse can give you a shot for that.

Oh, are you saying that things like taking blood presure medication is preventative care? It's not. It's being treated for an existing condition called "high blood pressure". Being treated for an illness is not preventative.

Really?

High blood pressure, by itself, isn't an illness. In fact, it occurs in virtually all healthy older adults. It's a consequence of aging.

So treating these people with hardening of tge arteries- a natural situation, somehow is not preventative?
 
Really?

High blood pressure, by itself, isn't an illness. In fact, it occurs in virtually all healthy older adults. It's a consequence of aging.

So treating these people with hardening of tge arteries- a natural situation, somehow is not preventative?

Preventative of what? Death for a short while?

There's an inherent difference between insuring against an unlikely, highly unfortunate event vs. paying for maintenance care for, as you correctly called it, a completely normal and virtually universal condition of aging.
 
You probably ought to look it up before you say more. The best spent money in healthcare goes into preventative medicine.

est

I actually have looked it up before and found that you are not correct.

The 'Preventive Care' Myth | National Review Online

A Doctor’s View of Obama’s Healthcare Plans - WSJ.com

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/07/health/views/07essa.html?_r=0

Prevention Will Reduce Medical Costs: A Persistent Myth - Health Care Cost Monitor

Preventive Medicine

An Apple a Day

Michael Fumento: The Preventive-Care Myth

The myth that preventive medicine saves money

https://www.actuarialoutpost.com/actuarial_discussion_forum/showthread.php?t=172909

Five Myths About Health Care - Forbes

Should I go on?



True preventive care costs nothing or almost nothing. Exercise and proper eating and staying away from tobacco and excess alcohol and generally being safe with your body. These aren't the types of things that insurance can pay for.

As far as screening, thats really not preventative care either, it's looking for illnesses. Screening is great for the individual, it's not a money saver for society. While early detection can be a big cost saver for individuals who are found to have breast cancer, most individuals do not have breast cancer, and thus in aggregate we actually spend more screening for breast cancer than we spend treating breast cancer.
 
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Really?

High blood pressure, by itself, isn't an illness. In fact, it occurs in virtually all healthy older adults. It's a consequence of aging.

So treating these people with hardening of tge arteries- a natural situation, somehow is not preventative?

And aging is preventable?

My bp pills cost $3 a month, and thats without insurance or any type of special plan. I really don't understand why anyone needs insurance or the government to pay for that. The best prevention for high blood pressure (and type 2 diabeties, and heart health, and a host of other illnesses) is not getting fat. You don't have to go to the doc to be "not fat", all one has to do is to eat less and/or exercise more.
 
preventative of what? Death for a short while?

There's an inherent difference between insuring against an unlikely, highly unfortunate event vs. Paying for maintenance care for, as you correctly called it, a completely normal and virtually universal condition of aging.

exactly!!!!!
 
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