USA! USA! We're #1...in Being Unhealthy!

[joeybee12]

Americans are far more unhealthy than people in 16 other developed countries, and it’s probably our own fault, experts reported on Wednesday. We die younger from diseases such as obesity and heart disease, and we are far more likely to be murdered and die in car accidents, the researchers at the National Academy of Sciences found.

U.S. culture has a lot to do with it and policymakers need to take action right away to reverse the trend, the experts who wrote the report advised.

"It's a tragedy. Our report found that an equally large, if not larger, disadvantage exists among younger Americans," said Dr. Steven Woolf, chair of the department of family medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University, who chaired the panel.

“I, personally, was stunned by how pervasive the disadvantage was across so many topic areas.”

http://vitals.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/09/16433458-were-unhealthier-than-everyone-else-and-its-our-own-fault?lite

[Warpy]

1. That's what happens when you eliminate labor's access to health care

through punitively high deductibles and copays. Most people put off going to a doctor until they're in danger of dying.

People without access to real treatment often self medicate with booze and/or drugs and that's where a lot of the violence comes from.

I'm surprised that anyone who knows how horrible the health care system is here is surprised that this is such a rotten country to live in from a health standpoint.

And others.

[joeybee12]

2. Historically, health insurance here has never covered anything considered preventative...

People elsewhere think that's nuts...and they're right.

[riverbendviewgal]

3. In Canada we have preventative health care

I love my caring country and the excellent health care we have