Reply #42: OT: America has the second worst newborn mortality rate in the developed world

[UpInArms]

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/why-us-losing-ground-longevity/story.aspx?guid=%7BB2EDED6F%2DAE1F%2D46AF%2DA8C9%2DFD82B73CDF76%7D

Among the countries that in the past two decades have been growing their longevity faster than the U.S. are Japan, Jordan, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. And, alas, most Western and Eastern European countries beat the U.S. as well.

Why? Even the experts confess that they don't have all the answers. One reason, Butler believes, is that a record 47 million Americans do not have health insurance and those who do may be subject to denials when they make claims.

Another big issue is that the U.S. infant mortality rate is shocking. America has the second worst newborn mortality rate in the developed world, according to a 2006 report by Save the Children, a nonprofit organization promoting the welfare of children around the world. Roughly 6.4 babies die out of every thousand live births in the U.S., reports the Central Intelligence Agency, as opposed to approximately 6 in a thousand in Cuba. Yes: Cuba, which puts a special emphasis on fighting infant mortality.

Fat of the land

A third reason for the relative decline of America's longevity is the well-advertised, fast-growing rise of obesity. Says Butler: "For the first time, our children may live less long than their parents, because with obesity comes such ailments as heart disease, hypertension and diabetes. These diseases are all very expensive to treat."

Consequently, the U.S. will have to spend awesome sums to treat them. This capital commitment is likely to hold down the nation's productivity and its competitiveness in global markets.