Posted on 05/16/2006 6:45:28 AM PDT by A. Pole
MEDICAL researchers recently set heads to shaking on both sides of the Atlantic with a study showing that white, middle-aged English people are much healthier than white, middle-aged Americans. The English have less cancer, less high blood pressure, less heart disease and stroke, and less diabetes. To make sure that the difference was not just the result of stiff-upper-lip Brits keeping quiet about what ails them, the researchers also examined biological data, which confirmed the disparity.
The results are so striking because there is no ready explanation for them. Yes, the English have a national health insurance system and we don't, but the gap is just as great between wealthy Englanders and their wealthy US counterparts, nearly all of whom have insurance coverage. In both countries, health relates directly to wealth, but the richest third of Americans have as much heart disease and diabetes as the poorest third of the English. The study focused on persons aged 55 to 64 and included only non-Hispanic whites, to keep health problems related to race or ethnicity from skewing the findings.
[...]
The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, has prompted considerable speculation about the roots of American bad health. One theory is that it reflects the fact that Americans on average have fewer vacation days than the English, contributing to an unhealthy level of stress on this side of the Atlantic. The average American gets 12 days of vacation a year; the average British person gets 23.
[...]
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
That's because they cannot eat because their teeth are so bad.
I have 6 weeks of vacation accrued plus 4 comp days. Luckily I can carry it across years.
Think of it. If we bopped people on the head the moment they showed symptoms of something, we'd have a 100% healthy population, wouldn't we?
lol....ya. 11 out of 365 days makes all the difference.
I want a job where I make money spewing all the stupid crap that flows through my head.
Since when does "middle-aged" include only people aged 55-64?
Anyone that has lived in a country that has nationalized health care understands that this is not the answer. The only thing it does is skew the results of studies due to people that die of illness or old age waiting to get in to see a doctor.
The English have a whole lot less fun.
I like it. There was similar hooting here last week when the U.S. made a supposedly poor showing in an infant mortality survey. Somebody posted that in many European countries "stillborn" in fact includes babies that die up to some number of hours after birth. Etc.
Then there's the famous story (but it might just be a brain teaser) about a country that improved the design of their helmets during WWI. All of a sudden the number of head injuries doubled or tripled. WTF lousy design was that!? Oops, deaths due to head injuries were down by about the same amount.
You mean that you don't have any friends that are 128 yrs. old? ;-)
You mean that you don't have any friends that are 128 yrs. old? ;-)
Note to self: Cut down on coffee!
How do you know? Did you live in one?
It makes a lot of difference - it means two more weeks of vacation.
I wonder if this statistic refers to the days of vacation that workers are eligible for or is it the days of vacation actually absent from work.
When I was working in the corporate world, I didn't know anyone in my work group or among my immediate associates and friends who actually took all the vacation days for which they were eligible. Some people I knew went several years without taking a day of vacation.
If the results of this study are valid, I agree it's very possible that work stress is a major factor in explaining the difference in wellness.
I suspect that if you take this fact into account the difference is even larger!
'That's because they cannot eat because their teeth are so bad.'
Evidently not a problem Americans suffer from, judging by the 3XL human hippos you see waddling around just about everywhere in the US. I'll take wonky teeth over morbid obesity any day thanks.
'Another theory: the study is bogus. I have some experience of the NHS. I'm betting there are more sick Americans because Americans survive getting sick, sometimes for years and years.'
The report clearly states that it includes comparisons between rich americans and rich Brits, both of whom have private health cover and the health gap is still just as big, proving it has nothing to do with the NHS.
Personally, I think it comes down to two things - Brits walk far more and eat far less fast food than Americans. It's not rocket science.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.