I don't necessarily think our health care system is inefficient, rather that Americans are lazy when it comes to taking care of their health. America continues to remain the most obese country population wise and I look to culture norms for this. One example, is the use of a fork or should I say shuffle. Americans have the ability to shuffle large portions of food into their mouths at one sitting in comparison to say the Chinese who use chopsticks, lowering the portion size intake. I also think fast food is a key component to obesity in America, as well as lack of nutritional intake.
I feel that the main contributor to the obesity in our country is our culture itself. We want things to be fast, easy, and cheap. People in the business world always seem to be in a rush to get things done, its only natural that how we eat follows that trend. We can take a twenty minutes to prepare a burger ourselves which would cost us about $2, or we can take a drive to the nearest mcdonalds and get a burger for $1.06, not having to get out of our cars and we can just be on the way with the rest of our lives. It's way too easy to be unhealthy in America, and frankly, most are ok with it.
WOW! I failed to realized that America spends so much on healthcare. In comparison to socialist/Nordic countries it looks like in 2010 the U.S. spent much more on healthcare. How is that possible? The article explains that because of bad health habits imbedded in our culture (obesity, diabetes, infections, violence, etc.). The United States has a lower life expectancy and higher infant mortality rate than most developed countries. Come on America, lets get healthy!
I did my SIP on obesity in the united states and looked a little into the economic burden that it creates both directly and indirectly. Of course, given the long-term health problems of obesity, higher costs for health care ensue, but there are also costs associated with obesity that we might not think of. The extra weight on airplanes, for example, has lead to millions of extra dollars in fuel costs every year. Similarly, the increase in obesity has affected manufacturers, forcing them to create products such as clothes, furniture, and even coffins, to accomodate larger bodies, using more of our country's resources. There is undoubtedly a problem in the United States, but the questions of "why?" and "how do we fix it," are widely debated and attempts to fix the issue have been unsuccessful to date.
This is an extremely alarming article that I believe all Americans should read and feel the affects from. Spending the most on healthcare and not seeing the benefits is a problem that needs to be taken care of in the near future. We, as Americans, have no excuse to not be healthy or take care of one another. We have allowed societal norms and expectations dictate our lifestyles and livelihood. It is hard to say whether these statistics will have a direct impact on the future of our country, both financially and health-wise, but I hope we don't wait to find out.
America seriously lacks preventative healthcare in my opinion. Especially with obesity. If considered a disease, obesity can be prevented through societal change. They way food is produced in America is another thing making us so unhealthy.
One of the more surprising/concerning statistics in this article was the one showing our infant mortality rate, which is far higher than any other developed nation on the list. These statistics paint a very poor picture of the United States when it comes to healthcare.
I don't necessarily think our health care system is inefficient, rather that Americans are lazy when it comes to taking care of their health. America continues to remain the most obese country population wise and I look to culture norms for this. One example, is the use of a fork or should I say shuffle. Americans have the ability to shuffle large portions of food into their mouths at one sitting in comparison to say the Chinese who use chopsticks, lowering the portion size intake. I also think fast food is a key component to obesity in America, as well as lack of nutritional intake.
ReplyDeleteI feel that the main contributor to the obesity in our country is our culture itself. We want things to be fast, easy, and cheap. People in the business world always seem to be in a rush to get things done, its only natural that how we eat follows that trend. We can take a twenty minutes to prepare a burger ourselves which would cost us about $2, or we can take a drive to the nearest mcdonalds and get a burger for $1.06, not having to get out of our cars and we can just be on the way with the rest of our lives. It's way too easy to be unhealthy in America, and frankly, most are ok with it.
ReplyDeleteWOW! I failed to realized that America spends so much on healthcare. In comparison to socialist/Nordic countries it looks like in 2010 the U.S. spent much more on healthcare. How is that possible? The article explains that because of bad health habits imbedded in our culture (obesity, diabetes, infections, violence, etc.). The United States has a lower life expectancy and higher infant mortality rate than most developed countries. Come on America, lets get healthy!
ReplyDeleteI did my SIP on obesity in the united states and looked a little into the economic burden that it creates both directly and indirectly. Of course, given the long-term health problems of obesity, higher costs for health care ensue, but there are also costs associated with obesity that we might not think of. The extra weight on airplanes, for example, has lead to millions of extra dollars in fuel costs every year. Similarly, the increase in obesity has affected manufacturers, forcing them to create products such as clothes, furniture, and even coffins, to accomodate larger bodies, using more of our country's resources. There is undoubtedly a problem in the United States, but the questions of "why?" and "how do we fix it," are widely debated and attempts to fix the issue have been unsuccessful to date.
ReplyDeleteThis is an extremely alarming article that I believe all Americans should read and feel the affects from. Spending the most on healthcare and not seeing the benefits is a problem that needs to be taken care of in the near future. We, as Americans, have no excuse to not be healthy or take care of one another. We have allowed societal norms and expectations dictate our lifestyles and livelihood. It is hard to say whether these statistics will have a direct impact on the future of our country, both financially and health-wise, but I hope we don't wait to find out.
ReplyDeleteAmerica seriously lacks preventative healthcare in my opinion. Especially with obesity. If considered a disease, obesity can be prevented through societal change. They way food is produced in America is another thing making us so unhealthy.
ReplyDeleteOne of the more surprising/concerning statistics in this article was the one showing our infant mortality rate, which is far higher than any other developed nation on the list. These statistics paint a very poor picture of the United States when it comes to healthcare.
ReplyDelete