Why Americans are dying earlier than their international peers

Yomama wrote:

boards of FL wrote:http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/09/health/international-health-report/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

Yomama wrote:'taint my idea of getting exercise...

boards of FL wrote:http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/09/health/international-health-report/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

Markle wrote:


It is a bogus study. Without making adjustments for the nationality and racial composition of a country it is nothing but an amusing anecdote.

Of all the countries they studied, only the United States has more than a token number of citizens of other nationalities and races.

Bob wrote:

Markle wrote:


It is a bogus study. Without making adjustments for the nationality and racial composition of a country it is nothing but an amusing anecdote.

Of all the countries they studied, only the United States has more than a token number of citizens of other nationalities and races.

But we've always been a melting pot. And in the past we ranked better on these health statistics. So that wouldn't explain why we've been slipping in recent years.

Yomama wrote:

Yomama wrote:

Markle wrote:

This is the first year it seems to have decreased.

Markle wrote:

boards of FL wrote:http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/09/health/international-health-report/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

It is a bogus study. Without making adjustments for the nationality and racial composition of a country it is nothing but an amusing anecdote.

Of all the countries they studied, only the United States has more than a token number of citizens of other nationalities and races.

The vast majority of residents in Norway are...ta da...Norwegians. The state of Minnesota has a large population of Norwegians and guess what, the Life Expectancy of both Norway and Minnesota are nearly identical.

The same is true of other countries listed and specific states. For example Japan and Hawaii.

As for infant mortality rates, different countries have different criteria to determine a live birth. Sounds simple but is anything simple with governments? In the U.S., if an infant takes a breath, moves, or has a heartbeat, it is a live birth. Some countries also consider the size, weight and gestation period. Even if the infant takes a breath, moves and then dies, if it large enough, they don't consider it a live birth. Most infant deaths take place in the first 24 hours of life. We consider that a live birth, other countries do not.

Plus, nations submit their own statistics. Those are just a few of the reasons that the United Nations quit rating health care among nations.

Bob wrote:

Markle wrote:

This is the first year it seems to have decreased.

"We were struck by the gravity of these findings," said Steven H. Woolf, professor of family medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond and chair of the panel that wrote the report. "Americans are dying and suffering at rates that we know are unnecessary because people in other high-income countries are living longer lives and enjoying better health. What concerns our panel is why, for decades, we have been slipping behind."

http://www8.nationalacademies.org/onpinews/newsitem.aspx?RecordID=13497

Markle wrote: what segment of our population is growing the fastest?

Nationalities and races with the highest life expectancy or the lowest?

Bob wrote:Markle, I think you have a tendency to look at everything through the obama lens.
The obama lens colors your thinking. Since you're convinced obama and obamacare (and everything else obama touches) is so evil, you cannot bring yourself to take an objective look at the status quo. And in this case the status quo is the pre-obamacare health care system.
Yes, Obamacare may indeed prove to be a bunch of crap that will end up a complete failure costing us even more than the status quo. But just because one turd stinks, that doesn't make the turd that was already on the ground smell any sweeter.
Our country is in decline, markel. It was in decline before obama, it continues to be in decline with obama, and it will remain in decline after obama.

Markle wrote:
I never mentioned or inferred that President Barack Hussein Obama had anything to do with life expectancies...yet.

I never mentioned ObamaCare which is a fiasco and will shorten our life expectancies

Markle wrote:

Our children and our grandchildren will never enjoy the standard of living that we do

Bob wrote:
Yes and it's for a myriad of reasons. But the most significant reason is simply this.
For a half century we were in a period of economic prosperity. We were the manufacturer to the world and that gave us a thriving middle class.
But over time the rest of the world started competing with us on that. And they had and have an almost limitless labor force that will work for a helluva lot less wages than we require. That was the genesis of our transition from economic decline to economic prosperity.
And so far I see no light at the end of that tunnel. I'm trying, but I can't.