Christopher
Active Member
- Aug 7, 2009
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- #21
That question assumes those traits are uniquely American.
No, it does not assume that. America having a higher percentage of its population with unhealthy lifestyles makes it unique and something to consider when looking at health statistics. You did not look at the research on American longevity and its relationship (or lack thereof) to American health care presented in this thread, did you?
The results the research in the OP derived are a lot different from what other studies have shown. While he claims lifestyle factors account for most of the difference, other studies have shown lifestyle only accounts for about three percent of the difference.
Please provide links to these other studies then.
Here is something from the NY Times article on how the statistics are affected when considering just smoking:
Dr. Preston and other researchers have calculated that if deaths due to smoking were excluded, the United States would rise to the top half of the longevity rankings for developed countries.
Also from the article:
Dr. Preston says he saw no evidence for the much-quoted estimates that poor health care is responsible for more preventable deaths in the United States than in other developed countries.