Americans 'more ill than English'

[Guest guest]

Higher rates of obesity in the US could not explain the differences

White middle-aged Americans are less healthy than their English

counterparts, research suggests.

Americans aged 55 to 64 are up to twice as likely to suffer from

diabetes, lung cancer and high blood pressure as English people of

the same age.

 

The healthiest Americans had similar disease rates to the least

healthy English, the Journal of the American Medical Association

study found.

 

The US-UK research found greater links between health and wealth in

the US.

 

We should look for explanation to the circumstances in which people

live and work

 

Sir Michael Marmot

 

The joint team from University College London, the University of

London and health research organisation Rand Corporation, chose two

groups of comparable white people from large, long-term health

surveys in the US and in Britain.

 

In total, the study examined data on around 8,000 people in the two

countries.

 

Each group was divided into three socio-economic groups based on

their education and income.

 

They then compared self-reports of chronic diseases such as diabetes,

high blood pressure, heart disease, heart attacks, stroke and lung

disease.

 

The American group reported significantly higher levels of disease

than the English.

 

Rates of diabetes were twice as high among the US group as the

English.

 

One of the study's authors, James Smith of Rand, said: " You don't

expect the health of middle-aged people in these two countries to be

too different, but we found that the English are a lot healthier than

the Americans. "

 

'Medical care'

 

Those on the lowest incomes in both countries reported most cases of

all diseases, except for cancer, and those on the highest incomes the

least.

 

But these health inequalities were more pronounced in the US than

they were in England.

 

The researchers suggested the lack of social programmes in the US,

which in the UK help protect those who are sick from loss of income

and poverty, could partly help explain why there was a greater link

between Americans' wealth and disease.

 

But the study also found that differences in disease rates between

the two nations were not full explained by lifestyle factors either.

 

Rates of smoking are similar in the US and England but alcohol

consumption higher in the UK.

 

'Bad lifestyle'

 

Obesity is more common in the US and Americans tend to get less

exercise, but even when the obesity factor was taken out, the

differences persisted.

 

One of the researchers Professor Sir Michael Marmot, of the

department of epidemiology and public health at University College

London, said people would automatically presume the differences were

caused by the variance in healthcare systems.

 

But he pointed out that Americans spent almost double per head on

health care than the English, even though the system was organised in

a different way.

 

He said: " There is more uneven distribution in the US and something

like 15% of Americans have no health insurance and a bigger number

who are under-insured. "

 

But this could not fully explain the differences because the richest

Americans with access to the universal healthcare still had worse

health than the worst off in England.

 

Infant mortality

 

" We cannot blame either bad lifestyle or inadequate medical care as

the main culprits in these socio-economic differences in health.

 

" We should look for explanation to the circumstances in which people

live and work.

 

" We have to take a much broader look at social determinants of health

in both countries.

 

" We need to do further research to fill in the jigsaw pieces of the

puzzle, " he added.

 

A Department of Health spokeswoman acknowledged health inequalities

in England of the kind revealed in the research and said the

government was anxious to tackle them.

 

It aims to reduce health inequalities in life expectancy and infant

mortality by 10% and improve health generally.

 

" Health trainers, targeted initially at the most deprived

communities, are one of the many initiatives which will help narrow

this gap by supporting people to make healthier choices in their

daily lives, " she added.

[Guest guest]

this doesn't take a rocket scientist,

 

alls I have to do is look in front of me and look behind me

at the check-out line in the supermarket.

 

and I see Junk food inside people carts. just trash food.

 

people with lots of healthy food in ther shopping carts are rare.

 

it's like nobody cares.

 

 

, " heartwerk " <jo.heartwork wrote:

>

>

>

> Higher rates of obesity in the US could not explain the differences

> White middle-aged Americans are less healthy than their English

> counterparts, research suggests.

> Americans aged 55 to 64 are up to twice as likely to suffer from

> diabetes, lung cancer and high blood pressure as English people of

> the same age.

>

> The healthiest Americans had similar disease rates to the least

> healthy English, the Journal of the American Medical Association

> study found.

>