America Is Number One (At Obesity, STDs and Dying Young)

[DonRedwood]

Among wealthy, developed countries, that is. According to a study from the National Academy of Sciences, Americans are "far" unhealthier than their counterparts in Canada, Australia, Japan, Britain, France, Portugal, Italy and Germany and eight other countries. But just how bad is it?

Well, Americans ranked last (or first, depending on how you look at it) in infant mortality, injury and homicide rates, teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, AIDS, drug abuse, obesity and diabetes, heart disease, lung disease, and disabilities. But don't worry, we managed all this while spending $8,600 a year per person on healthcare, which is more than twice as much Britain, France and Sweden, "even with their universal healthcare systems."

And the numbers are worse for younger Americans.
"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.
The size of the health disadvantage was pretty stunning," Woolf told reporters in a telephone briefing.

More at: http://gawker.com/5974693/america-is-number-one-at-obesity-stds-and-dying-young

[99th_Monkey]

1. Highest per capita (& real numbers) prison population in the world ~nt

[DonRedwood]

2. think of the cost of that....

[99th_Monkey]

6. Not to worry. The Job Creators get all that money directly.

Via the prison privatization corporations.

Pretty soon there will only be TWO kinds of people
in the USA; prison inmates doing slave labor in
private prisons and prison guards.

[Jefferson23]

3. USA USA USA!

[HappyMe]

4. At least we're good at something.

Who needs that pesky math and science.

[SunSeeker]

5. "Though Americans know what's 'good' for them, few act on it."

"Although we are less likely to smoke and drink heavily than our peers, we consume more calories, have higher rates of drug abuse, are less likely to use seat belts and are more likely to use guns in acts of violence, according to the report."

"In countries with the most favorable health outcomes, resource investments and infrastructure often reflect a strong societal commitment to the health and welfare of the entire population," the report states.

Why Americans are dying earlier than their international peers
http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/09/health/international-health-report/index.html?hpt=hp_c1

[Selatius]

7. See, the problem is the US is more committed to individual pursuits, not societal goals.

We live in a country of "me" instead of a country of "we."

The corporate oligarchs on Wall Street like this arrangement. It lends itself far more readily to consumer capitalism and the accumulation of wealth than if they were dealing with a people with strong collective tendencies.

We used to be a different country back in the 1940s. We were more likely to take after each other and care. Then the television was invented, and the news outlets began to become propaganda arms for the oligarchs on Wall Street with the goal of changing the United States from a nation of active citizens into passive consumers.

[Bonobo]

8. It's also the only country sending its military around to kill people.

Imagine if China was sending its military around somewhere to kill folk. The US would flip out.