(07-20-2018, 08:29 PM)mikesez Wrote:

(07-20-2018, 04:55 PM)Gettin\ Jaggy with it Wrote: You are correct in that most European nations have higher smoking rates than the US, although I don't see where pirkster referenced smoking. However, the smoking rate in Canada is significantly lower than in the US. As far as food consumption, I would agree with pirkster that the US has some of the unhealthiest eating habits in the West, and the statistics do back him up. The US has the 4th highest caloric intake per capita in the world, and the proportion of caloric intake from sugars and fats in the US is significantly greater than other Western nations.

Well at least someone here is looking things up. 
I was going off of experience and what I remembered from looking at statistics years ago. Do you have any links so I can refresh my memory?

In any case, these lifestyle questions are only the first step in determining if Pirkster's story is true. If diet is really making us spend more on health care, you first have to prove (1) our diet is significantly worse, and (2) we spend more days in the hospital and have more specialist visits and take more prescription drugs for reasons tied to diet and lifestyle.
(1) might be true, you might have the data, but
(2) is not true. Western Europeans generally get more care than us.  More doctors visits and more days in hospitals. But they spend less money.
Something else is going on.

There are some nice graphics at this Nat Geo link illustrating the diets of several nations. The underlying data source can be clunky but has more information if you wish to spend the time.

Health care in the US is undeniably more expensive, and there are many reasons. And quality health care isn't nearly as accessible for poor Americans as it is for many poor Europeans. However, the biggest reason why the US leads the world in medical innovation is due to the profits the companies can make in the US versus the rest of the world. The amount of money Americans spend on health care helps subsidize the quality of health care in Europe. See this link regarding pharmaceutical profits.

---