Why are people in US sicker than people in the UK?
Welcome to our health & self help blog.
Focus on Your Health:
In it we post health commentary & reviews of books, eBooks, & other things that improve or protect your health or which enable you to live longer, to be more prosperous, & to be more effective.
Today's post: Tuesday, 9-19-2006
Why are people in the US sicker than people in the UK?….
You may have seen a few weeks ago the report that even though the per capita spending on medical care in the US is twice that in the UK, people in the US are less healthy than people in the UK.
Richer people in both countries tended to have better health than poor people. But the difference was so large that the average poor person in the UK was in comparable health to a rich person in the US.
No detailed studies have as yet been done as to why this is. But here is my take on why that’s so.
Here’s the summary.
1. People who eat real food, particularly those who avoid eating packaged foods with transfats (partially hydrogenated oils) or sugar or high fructose corn syrup added, tend to be in much better health than people who do eat large quantities of packaged, snack, & junk foods with these ingredients.
2. People who live lives that require them to walk even as little as a few minutes most days to a total of 500 calories a week, get fully 40 percent of the health & longevity benefits of an ideal exercise program that burns about 3500 calories a week.
3. People often do follow some of the better health & health protective ideas that they get from their doctors. And, since much of such advice, like quit smoking, is excellent, those people are much healthier than people who go to doctors who never give such advice.
4. People who have good social connection networks tend to have much better health & deal with stress better than people who don’t.
Next, I’ll say why I think the UK tends to provide these four things better than the US.
But, if you live in the US, you can sharply improve & protect your health by doing these four things for yourself, even if the average person here doesn’t yet know to do so.
1. Fast food, whether good or bad healthwise, &, at this writing, it’s still mostly bad -- & the packaged & food additive businesses were developed in the US. So, as the country where, for legitimate business reasons, much of this was developed, I strongly suspect that the per capita consumption of such foods & additives like high fructose corn syrup & transfats is higher here than in the UK.
In the UK, there are more traditional foods & recipes that date from earlier times; & I strongly suspect that the average person eats more real food & less harmful junk than the average American.
2. All of Western Europe, including the UK, developed economically based on train travel. Roads & cars were added later. And, many people in the UK live within walking distance of train depots; & their communities are often laid out so they can walk to where they want to go. That means even lazy, uninformed, & super busy people wind up walking several times each week.
The US started with trains; but then 80 or 90 percent of the rest of the country developed in connection with road building & traveling by car.
This gives people in the US wonderful freedom of movement & mobility & some economic advantages that flow from that.
But it also means the lazy, uninformed, & super busy in the US often do not get ANY exercise at all.
3. Precisely because there is less money available to treat diseases, doctors in the UK have, at least until recently, tended to do a much better job of offering advice that will help their patients avoid disease. Mercifully, that is changing from what I’ve seen. But it could still be a LOT better.
4. I may be wrong; but I suspect that both because the UK is older & has social traditions older than the US, they spend more time with people & less time with TV than do people in the US.
My guess is that people in the UK are more likely to go out to a Pub & socialize than stay home seated by themselves in front of a TV.
And, they are much more likely to walk or walk part of the way to get there, going back to the second point.
You can have better health than most of the people in both groups regardless of where you live.
1. Eat real food; & totally stop buying or eating food with harmful ingredients.
2. Particularly if you are in the US, be SURE to get regular exercise every week. And, with exercise, even a little bit, done every week, has huge benefits.
3. Don’t smoke or allow yourself to be exposed to second hand smoke. And, find a doctor who knows preventative medicine & who will give you such advice when he or she discovers you need it.
4. Get together with people you know socially as often as you can; & stay in touch with family & friends even if it’s just an occasional phone call, card, letter, or email.
That may not seem like a lot. But the studies show it makes an ENORMOUS -- & a predictable & reliable difference -- for your health.
Focus on Your Health:
In it we post health commentary & reviews of books, eBooks, & other things that improve or protect your health or which enable you to live longer, to be more prosperous, & to be more effective.
Today's post: Tuesday, 9-19-2006
Why are people in the US sicker than people in the UK?….
You may have seen a few weeks ago the report that even though the per capita spending on medical care in the US is twice that in the UK, people in the US are less healthy than people in the UK.
Richer people in both countries tended to have better health than poor people. But the difference was so large that the average poor person in the UK was in comparable health to a rich person in the US.
No detailed studies have as yet been done as to why this is. But here is my take on why that’s so.
Here’s the summary.
1. People who eat real food, particularly those who avoid eating packaged foods with transfats (partially hydrogenated oils) or sugar or high fructose corn syrup added, tend to be in much better health than people who do eat large quantities of packaged, snack, & junk foods with these ingredients.
2. People who live lives that require them to walk even as little as a few minutes most days to a total of 500 calories a week, get fully 40 percent of the health & longevity benefits of an ideal exercise program that burns about 3500 calories a week.
3. People often do follow some of the better health & health protective ideas that they get from their doctors. And, since much of such advice, like quit smoking, is excellent, those people are much healthier than people who go to doctors who never give such advice.
4. People who have good social connection networks tend to have much better health & deal with stress better than people who don’t.
Next, I’ll say why I think the UK tends to provide these four things better than the US.
But, if you live in the US, you can sharply improve & protect your health by doing these four things for yourself, even if the average person here doesn’t yet know to do so.
1. Fast food, whether good or bad healthwise, &, at this writing, it’s still mostly bad -- & the packaged & food additive businesses were developed in the US. So, as the country where, for legitimate business reasons, much of this was developed, I strongly suspect that the per capita consumption of such foods & additives like high fructose corn syrup & transfats is higher here than in the UK.
In the UK, there are more traditional foods & recipes that date from earlier times; & I strongly suspect that the average person eats more real food & less harmful junk than the average American.
2. All of Western Europe, including the UK, developed economically based on train travel. Roads & cars were added later. And, many people in the UK live within walking distance of train depots; & their communities are often laid out so they can walk to where they want to go. That means even lazy, uninformed, & super busy people wind up walking several times each week.
The US started with trains; but then 80 or 90 percent of the rest of the country developed in connection with road building & traveling by car.
This gives people in the US wonderful freedom of movement & mobility & some economic advantages that flow from that.
But it also means the lazy, uninformed, & super busy in the US often do not get ANY exercise at all.
3. Precisely because there is less money available to treat diseases, doctors in the UK have, at least until recently, tended to do a much better job of offering advice that will help their patients avoid disease. Mercifully, that is changing from what I’ve seen. But it could still be a LOT better.
4. I may be wrong; but I suspect that both because the UK is older & has social traditions older than the US, they spend more time with people & less time with TV than do people in the US.
My guess is that people in the UK are more likely to go out to a Pub & socialize than stay home seated by themselves in front of a TV.
And, they are much more likely to walk or walk part of the way to get there, going back to the second point.
You can have better health than most of the people in both groups regardless of where you live.
1. Eat real food; & totally stop buying or eating food with harmful ingredients.
2. Particularly if you are in the US, be SURE to get regular exercise every week. And, with exercise, even a little bit, done every week, has huge benefits.
3. Don’t smoke or allow yourself to be exposed to second hand smoke. And, find a doctor who knows preventative medicine & who will give you such advice when he or she discovers you need it.
4. Get together with people you know socially as often as you can; & stay in touch with family & friends even if it’s just an occasional phone call, card, letter, or email.
That may not seem like a lot. But the studies show it makes an ENORMOUS -- & a predictable & reliable difference -- for your health.
posted by David at 1:04 PM
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