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[Lo-Volt]

Middle-aged, white Americans are much sicker than their counterparts in England, startling new research shows, despite U.S. health care spending per person that's more than double what England spends.

A higher rate of Americans tested positive for diabetes and heart disease than the English. Americans also self-reported more diabetes, heart attacks, strokes, lung disease and cancer.

The gap between the countries holds true for educated and uneducated, rich and poor.

"At every point in the social hierarchy there is more illness in the United States than in England and the differences are really dramatic," said study co-author Dr. Michael Marmot, an epidemiologist at University College London in England.

The study, appearing in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association, adds context to the already-known fact that the United States spends more on health care than any other industrialized nation, yet trails in rankings of life expectancy.

The United States spends about $5,200 per person on health care while England spends about half that in adjusted dollars.

"Everybody should be discussing it: Why isn't the richest country in the world the healthiest country in the world?" Marmot said.

"It's something of a mystery," said Richard Suzman of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, which helped fund the study. http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/05/02/sick.america.ap/index.html

 

[Mute]

It could have something to do with the parents overreacting every time their kids sneeze and rushing them to the doctor, or giving them half a cup of antibiotics every time they get a cold. That's not the best way to build up your immune system. My mom used to do that with me, and I kept getting sick until I stopped going to the doctor.

Or I could just blame it on

 

[Spastic Colon]

"Everybody should be discussing it: Why isn't the richest country in the world the healthiest country in the world?" Marmot said.

"It's something of a mystery," said Richard Suzman of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, which helped fund the study.

Yeah...a real baffler there Rich

 

[WalkMan]

I have a friend that goes to the docter for every little thing. He has a wart, he goes to the docter. He has a bruise, he goes to the docter.

 

[ronito]

I have a friend that goes to the docter for every little thing. He has a wart, he goes to the docter. He has a bruise, he goes to the docter.

He can't spell doctor, he goes to the doctor.

 

[jooey]

I thought this would be about pedophiles or something, but either way I agree.

 

[jenov4]

A fucking mystery? I wonder how many more millions of the taxpayer's budget will be spent coming to the conclusion that Americans eat too much, exercise too little.

 

[littlewig]

 

[MetalAlien]

You see the portions in england? I'm amazed they don't starve to death.

 

[Mute]

A fucking mystery? I wonder how many more millions of the taxpayer's budget will be spent coming to the conclusion that Americans eat too much, exercise too little.

Wasn't there a study posted a while back that showed that the UK was in almost as bad of shape as the United States? I know they're not much better off as far as weight goes.

 

[Tamanon]

Middle-aged, white Americans are much sicker than their counterparts in England, startling new research shows, despite U.S. health care spending per person that's more than double what England spends.

A higher rate of Americans tested positive for diabetes and heart disease than the English. Americans also self-reported more diabetes, heart attacks, strokes, lung disease and cancer.

The gap between the countries holds true for educated and uneducated, rich and poor.

"At every point in the social hierarchy there is more illness in the United States than in England and the differences are really dramatic," said study co-author Dr. Michael Marmot, an epidemiologist at University College London in England.

The study, appearing in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association, adds context to the already-known fact that the United States spends more on health care than any other industrialized nation, yet trails in rankings of life expectancy.

The United States spends about $5,200 per person on health care while England spends about half that in adjusted dollars.

"Everybody should be discussing it: Why isn't the richest country in the world the healthiest country in the world?" Marmot said.

"It's something of a mystery," said Richard Suzman of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, which helped fund the study. http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/05/02/sick.america.ap/index.html

I just conducted a survey that America funds too many common sense surveys. Where's my check?

 

[Crab Shaker]

"A higher rate of Americans tested positive for diabetes and heart disease than the English. Americans also self-reported more diabetes, heart attacks, strokes, lung disease and cancer."

Although I'm not saying it's not possible...anyone consider the fact that we go to doctors more often and pay them more leads to the discovery of more illness(and therefore have "more") and maybe even misdiagnosis on the doctor's part to extort insurance money?

 

[Oldschoolgamer]

"A higher rate of Americans tested positive for diabetes and heart disease than the English. Americans also self-reported more diabetes, heart attacks, strokes, lung disease and cancer."

Although I'm not saying it's not possible...anyone consider the fact that we go to doctors more often and pay them more leads to the discovery of more illness(and therefore have "more") and maybe even misdiagnosis on the doctor's part to extort insurance money?

Well, that and the fact their are a lot more obese people here.

 

[WrathOfOtaibah]

Its all due to obesity. Seriously, I'll never understand why people want to be fat and yes, 99% of the overweight and obese can make a change not to be fat.

 

[DaCocoBrova]

Yeah, I don't understand the fatties either.

 

[Deleted member 1235]

You see the portions in england? I'm amazed they don't starve to death.

my crackpot theory is that your attitude is also a large contributing factor, In my time in the US I noticed everything is enormous. Cars, roads, rubbish bins, food portions, super markets,fast food portions everything was 10 times the size of anything I have ever seen before(including a lot of the people). 2L of coke in a jumbo. Jeebus the biggest size I've ever seen outside of the US is less than half that.

If I lived in the states I'd probably contribute to this stat, when Spastic Colon (heh) posted the photo of that Mc Heart attack, my initial thought was "I'd have a crack at that"

Pretty much the western world is fucked though anyway, I can't remember the last time I heard "Child obesity is not a problem in our country"

 

[Dr_Cogent]

This thread makes me hungry. :lol

 

[iapetus]

Shoddy version of the story from CNN, there. The important thing that's missing from it is the fact that even accounting for the higher rate of obesity the US has more illness than the UK. The other potentially interesting point is that as well as this holding true at all levels from the richest to the poorest, the drop off between the rich and the poor is vastly more marked in the US.

Edit: My bad, assumed that was the full CNN story - the full one does mention that...

 

[iapetus]

A more in-depth version of the story from the BBC:

Americans 'more ill than English'

White middle-aged Americans are less healthy than their English counterparts, research suggests.

Americans aged 55 to 64 are up to twice as likely to suffer from diabetes, lung cancer and high blood pressure as English people of the same age.

The healthiest Americans had similar disease rates to the least healthy English, the Journal of the American Medical Association study found.

The US-UK research found greater links between health and wealth in the US.

The joint team from University College London, the University of London and health research organisation Rand Corporation, chose two groups of comparable white people from large, long-term health surveys in the US and in England.

In total, the study examined data on around 8,000 people in the two countries.

Each group was divided into three socio-economic groups based on their education and income.

They then compared self-reports of chronic diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, heart attacks, stroke and lung disease.

The American group reported significantly higher levels of disease than the English.

Rates of diabetes were twice as high among the US group as the English.

One of the study's authors, James Smith of Rand, said: "You don't expect the health of middle-aged people in these two countries to be too different, but we found that the English are a lot healthier than the Americans."

'Medical care'

Those on the lowest incomes in both countries reported most cases of all diseases, except for cancer, and those on the highest incomes the least.

But these health inequalities were more pronounced in the US than they were in England.

The researchers suggested the lack of social programmes in the US, which in the UK help protect those who are sick from loss of income and poverty, could partly help explain why there was a greater link between Americans' wealth and disease.

But the study also found that differences in disease rates between the two nations were not fully explained by lifestyle factors either.

Rates of smoking are similar in the US and England but alcohol consumption is higher in the UK.

'Bad lifestyle'

Obesity is more common in the US and Americans tend to get less exercise, but even when the obesity factor was taken out, the differences persisted.

One of the researchers Professor Sir Michael Marmot, of the department of epidemiology and public health at University College London, said people would automatically presume the differences were caused by the variance in healthcare systems.

US healthcare is funded through an insurance system while England's NHS is funded by taxation and is free at the point of use.

But he pointed out that Americans spent almost double per head on health care than the English do, even though the system was organised in a different way.

He said: "There is more uneven distribution in the US and something like 15% of Americans have no health insurance and (there are) a bigger number who are under-insured."

But this could not fully explain the differences because the richest Americans with access to highest levels of healthcare still had rates of poor health comparable to the worst off in England.

Infant mortality

"We cannot blame either bad lifestyle or inadequate medical care as the main culprits in these socio-economic differences in health.

"We should look for explanation to the circumstances in which people live and work.

"We have to take a much broader look at social determinants of health in both countries.

"We need to do further research to fill in the jigsaw pieces of the puzzle," he added.

A Department of Health spokeswoman acknowledged health inequalities in England of the kind revealed in the research and said the government was anxious to tackle them.

It aims to reduce health inequalities in life expectancy and infant mortality by 10% and improve health generally.

"Health trainers, targeted initially at the most deprived communities, are one of the many initiatives which will help narrow this gap by supporting people to make healthier choices in their daily lives," she added.

 

[teh_pwn]

Wait a sec. You're telling me that despite the billions more we spend on prescription drugs, we can't overcome the consequences of eating unhealthy? No wai!


Looks like Americans need to start using these:

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/46032
http://www.theonion.com/content/node/30630

 

[teh_pwn]

Its all due to obesity. Seriously, I'll never understand why people want to be fat and yes, 99% of the overweight and obese can make a change not to be fat.

Most don't realize it. They seem to think they have to eat at subway or spend a ridiculous amount of money to eat healthy. I think we should put much more serious health classes in public schools.

 

[ToxicAdam]

Weren't there recent studies that showed England was as fat as America?

 

[Nerevar]

Jesus fuck, did you people even read the article?

The healthiest Americans had similar disease rates to the least healthy English, the Journal of the American Medical Association study found.

Obesity is more common in the US and Americans tend to get less exercise, but even when the obesity factor was taken out, the differences persisted.

reading these threads is like listening to the world's dumbest parrots repeat the same thing ad nauseum.

"Americans are fat, that's the problem"
"Americans are fat, that's the problem"

The article addresses that point and more, READ IT before you repeat the same stupid shit over and over again.

 

[The_Jack]

Weren't there recent studies that showed England was as fat as America?

We've surged ahead of continental Europe the last 10 years but the last decent survey I saw said that if the growth of obesity continues at the same rate as the last decade, then in 20 years we will be where the US is now.

 

[Zaptruder]

The whole hypcondriac american theory is intresting but unproven to say the least.

What is proven by this study (as far as studies can prove things anyway) is that factoring for race, income, and weight level, all thought to be primary indicators of health and access to health services, is that the english are healthier than americans. Even though the english spend less on their health care.

The conclusion I would draw from this study is that Americans by nature are actually closet corprophiliacs.

 

[teh_pwn]

Jesus fuck, did you people even read the article?





reading these threads is like listening to the world's dumbest parrots repeat the same thing ad nauseum.

"Americans are fat, that's the problem"
"Americans are fat, that's the problem"

The article addresses that point and more, READ IT before you repeat the same stupid shit over and over again.

I don't believe it factors in the foods that we eat versus what the english eat.

The foods and their portions here aren't just increasing obesity, but they also lack any nutrients to keep the immune system healthy.

Multivitamins really do nothing. The phytonutrients found in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish, tea, etc make your immune system rock solid.

 

[Nerevar]

I don't believe it factors in the foods that we eat versus what the english eat.

The foods and their portions here aren't just increasing obesity, but they also lack any nutrients to keep the immune system healthy.

Multivitamins really do nothing. The phytonutrients found in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish, tea, etc make your immune system rock solid.

While I don't disagree that diet is a factor, there are probably a whole bunch of other factors at stake that simply pointing to diet ignores. Americans work longer hours and are arguably more stressed than their English counterparts as well, and that clearly has an impact on health. Regardless, I think the point of the study is to back up the assertion that universal healthcare is a much better system than the crappy one we have here, which leads to us spending more money on more health problems.

 

[Dynamite Shikoku]

That hamburger picture made me really hungry. But I've got no food in the house... Looks like its health for me

 

[ToxicAdam]

Jesus fuck, did you people even read the article?


.

...

 

[SupaFlySoccerMom]

I'm eating pizza right now. fucking delicious.

 

[penguinonapole]

Jesus fuck, did you people even read the article?





reading these threads is like listening to the world's dumbest parrots repeat the same thing ad nauseum.

"Americans are fat, that's the problem"
"Americans are fat, that's the problem"

The article addresses that point and more, READ IT before you repeat the same stupid shit over and over again.

QFT

 

[MrPing1000]

free health care helps i guess

 

[teh_pwn]

Where exactly does the article suggest that universal healthcare would help at all?

A higher rate of Americans tested positive for diabetes and heart disease than the English. Americans also self-reported more diabetes, heart attacks, strokes, lung disease and cancer.

The gap between the countries holds true for educated and uneducated, rich and poor.

The article says that wealthy, middleaged Americans have about the same health as the poor in England. The wealthy English are even healthier.

What this says is that Americans all around are less healthy, regardless of income or access to healthcare services. If anything, the fact that we spend twice as much on health care suggests that it is not the problem, and that universal healthcare would solve nothing.

The obvious problem to anyone that understands nutrition is that our bodies simply lack the supplies for optimal health. Not to say the English are saints about eating, they're just better than we are. You don't have to be obese to get disorders associated with a shit diet.



Pills do NOT prevent "diabetes, heart attacks, strokes, lung disease and cancer", proper diet does.

 

[SpoonyBard]

Statutory minimum annual leave plus public holidays:

UK: 28 days (four weeks + public holidays)
US: 10 days (0 weeks + public holidays)

+ longer work days and shitty health care system. Yeah, must be the food.

 

[pixelfish]

To comment on the diet of fresh fruits and vegetables part, does anybody watch the Jamie Oliver school lunch program? He(he's a famous chef from the UK if you didn't know) goes into a school and tries to cook these kids that eat nothing but french fries, shitty looking pizza and fried items, healthy lunches to try and change their diet. Those British kids wouldn't touch anything he cooked because it had visible pieces of vegetables in it. He ended up pureeing vegetables and tried to hide it in some icky bread like pizza which seems popular over there but the kids only ate the bread part and left the topping.

Now I'm sure it's different all around the country but looking at the middle school meal list here, American kids seem to eat a lot better than their British counterparts at school. They get salad and fruit everyday. Milk and Juice which is not that good but better than cans of pop. Even the calories are figured out so that parents can regulate how many calories their kids take in a day.

I do agree that here in the US portion sizes are out of control. When my parents came to visit me here in the US for the first time, my dad thought that the large drink cups from Burger King was for him and my mother to share. He couldn't believe that one person was meant to drink all the pop.

 

[pixelfish]

Statutory minimum annual leave plus public holidays:

UK: 28 days (four weeks + public holidays)
US: 10 days (0 weeks + public holidays)

+ longer work days and shitty health care system. Yeah, must be the food.

Add in that Americans spend less time preparing meals from fresh ingredients and rely more on packaged foods that contain poisons like partially hydrogenated fats which are banned in Europe, it just adds to our bad health.

 

[jenov4]

...

:lol

 

[callous]

Statutory minimum annual leave plus public holidays:

UK: 28 days (four weeks + public holidays)
US: 10 days (0 weeks + public holidays)

+ longer work days and shitty health care system. Yeah, must be the food.

This is what I was going to come in here and post. There it is.

 

[WrathOfOtaibah]

Health care has nothing to do with it. Unless by health care, you mean telling people to stop eating that 5th slice of pizza. Then hell yeah, health care.

Universal Health Care will cripple the American economy. The Pharmaceutical Industry is too corrupt and people are too fat. I have no objection paying money for a kid who needs vaccinations or someone who has cancer. What I object are fatasses that want gastric bypasses and insulin for their Type-2 Diabetes because they can't get their shit together enough to drink water instead of pop.

I personally think that a tax on High Fructose Corn Syrup is best. Along with that, a ban on vending machines for Elementary and Middle schools. That and a ban on food advertising that targets children under 12. A few cents per gram. I'll laugh and shake my head at all the poor fools who pay $5 for a 20 oz pop.

 

[jenov4]

Add in that Americans spend less time preparing meals from fresh ingredients and rely more on packaged foods that contain poisons like partially hydrogenated fats which are banned in Europe, it just adds to our bad health.

Whoa, I didn't realize partially hydroenated fats were banned in Europe. Thumbs up!

 

[teh_pwn]

Statutory minimum annual leave plus public holidays:

UK: 28 days (four weeks + public holidays)
US: 10 days (0 weeks + public holidays)

+ longer work days and shitty health care system. Yeah, must be the food.

I don't believe stress alone is going to give you cancer and heart disease. It's a catalyst. If our food consumption is equal, then I'd agree with you. But I have a feeling that with our large portion sizes, TV dinners, and fast food, that we consume more things like sugar, which can cause many problems. I'm having trouble finding statistics to prove this.

However, again I'll repeat: That article says nothing about us needing universal healthcare. It says that the wealthiest Americans, with the best service that they can afford, are about as healthy as England's poorest, and worse than England's richest.

That demonstrates what I'm talking about. It doesn't matter how many billions of dollars you spend on health care, you can't cure cancer. That's like defeating terrorism. It's broad, and simply ridiculous. You must prevent health problems with the wealth of knowledge we have on natural foods. Simple things like eating spinach, drinking green tea, and not consuming so much sugar can vastly improve your health.

 

[teh_pwn]

Health care has nothing to do with it. Unless by health care, you mean telling people to stop eating that 5th slice of pizza. Then hell yeah, health care.

Universal Health Care will cripple the American economy. The Pharmaceutical Industry is too corrupt and people are too fat. I have no objection paying money for a kid who needs vaccinations or someone who has cancer. What I object are fatasses that want gastric bypasses and insulin for their Type-2 Diabetes because they can't get their shit together enough to drink water instead of pop.

I personally think that a tax on High Fructose Corn Syrup is best. Along with that, a ban on vending machines for Elementary and Middle schools. That and a ban on food advertising that targets children under 12. A few cents per gram. I'll laugh and shake my head at all the poor fools who pay $5 for a 20 oz pop.

Agreed. We need to broaden any existing programs that help the genuinely needy, and put more restrictions on the free market. Like public school foods/lunches, removing the blatant advertising/brainwashing of junk food to children, prescription drug commercials, banning/taxing transfats and HFCS.

One of the reasons HFCS and transfats are use is because it's cheaper. If we tax it so that the healthier ingredients are cheaper, we give a level playing field to all food manufacturers.

 

[SpoonyBard]

I don't believe stress alone is going to give you cancer and heart disease. It's a catalyst. If our food consumption is equal, then I'd agree with you. But I have a feeling that with our large portion sizes, TV dinners, and fast food, that we consume more things like sugar, which can cause many problems. I'm having trouble finding statistics to prove this..

Yeah, well... it's a combination of things. People who work over 40 hours a week and don't have long holidays, don't have as much time to eat healthy foods, exercise, or spend time with their families or hobbies. All these would help. It's not healthy if the only thing in your life is work.

Of course Japanese also work long days, and have as bad holiday situation, but they eat healtier and their culture is not as individualistic. So they seem to be quite a bit healthier, high suicide rete notwithstanding.

 

[MetalAlien]

Without pizza and Mr Pibb there'd be no reason to wake up!

 

[WrathOfOtaibah]

Vacations? Most Americans are inactive as it is. Thats not the problem. Most work those long hours but they eat a huge bowl of ice cream and sit their asses on the couch until its bed time. Unless you're doing manual labor, you should never be _that_ tired. You will be that tired when you have to carry 120 lbs of unnecessary fat on you though.

I don't think transfats and HFCS should be banned. I just think they should be taxed. I'd also suggest adding in "Enriched wheat flour" and other foods that are basically chemical concoctions that were once derived from food.

 

[teh_pwn]

Yeah, well... it's a combination of things. People who work over 40 hours a week and don't have long holidays, don't have as much time to eat healthy foods, exercise, or spend time with their families or hobbies. All these would help. It's not healthy if the only thing in your life is work.

Of course Japanese also work long days, and have as bad holiday situation, but they eat healtier and their culture is not as individualistic. So they seem to be quite a bit healthier, high suicide rete notwithstanding.

Not enough time?

Who started this misconception that it takes a long time to prepare healthy food? In the time it takes to drive yourself to get food, you could have prepared something healthy. Most people probably don't know what healthy is either.

When I worked for a year (co-op), I usually packed my lunch. Took 10 minutes max in the morning. A lean chicken breast on whole grain bread, some fruit, nuts, yogurt, etc. I'd finish lunch in 15 minutes, while people that went out for "convenience" usually lagged back 15-45 minutes after their 1 hour lunch break.

Eating unhealthy also makes you very tired. The difference in energy I have now as compared to what I had in my teens when I ate junk is night and day.