How healthy is your country?

[kenny]

Mine is 33rd out of 145.
There are 32 countries more healthy than the USA, at least according to Bloomberg's methodology.

Why are the wealthiest nations not the healthiest?
Isn't Greece virtually bankrupt? but they rank 16th.

http://images.businessweek.com/bloomberg/pdfs/WORLDS_HEALTHIEST_COUNTRIES_V2.pdf

 

[Enerchi]

Canada - #14

 

[natascha]

Sweden number 9.

Erm is the US position on the table a surprise to anyone? What can you expect when your health system is shaped the way it is. Add to that significant income inequality and you get what you get.

While history and geography have an important effect on the diet and living patterns of a population, you also have to consider what type of consumer society a country currently is. I always find it really interesting to visit local supermarkets in different country's. Spain for example has relatively no microwave food compared to Sweden. Meanwhile eating out in Sweden is very expensive so people eat more at home and bring lunch boxes to school and work, that has a big effect on portion sizes and how healthy the food you eat is. For kids the food you serve in schools in the US would be completely unacceptable over here. From what I understand people are also generally more active over here.

Look at society and you will see why cumulative wealth (after a certain minimum level) is not a good indicator of a populations health.

 

[Porridge]

19, yeesh. I think the weather prevents us from exercising enough. Then there's the pub culture, pretty unhealthy. Jealous of all you healthy Swedes!

 

[iheartscience]

Sweden number 9.

Erm is the US position on the table a surprise to anyone? What can you expect when your health system is shaped the way it is. Add to that significant income inequality and you get what you get.

While history and geography have an important effect on the diet and living patterns of a population, you also have to consider what type of consumer society a country currently is. I always find it really interesting to visit local supermarkets in different country's. Spain for example has relatively no microwave food compared to Sweden. Meanwhile eating out in Sweden is very expensive so people eat more at home and bring lunch boxes to school and work, that has a big effect on portion sizes and how healthy the food you eat is. For kids the food you serve in schools in the US would be completely unacceptable over here. From what I understand people are also generally more active over here.

Look at society and you will see why cumulative wealth (after a certain minimum level) is not a good indicator of a populations health.

Ditto this-of course the US is relatively low compared to other industrialized nations. Our health policies and food subsidies pretty much guarantee that.

 

[natascha]

Sweden number 9.

Erm is the US position on the table a surprise to anyone? What can you expect when your health system is shaped the way it is. Add to that significant income inequality and you get what you get.

While history and geography have an important effect on the diet and living patterns of a population, you also have to consider what type of consumer society a country currently is. I always find it really interesting to visit local supermarkets in different country's. Spain for example has relatively no microwave food compared to Sweden. Meanwhile eating out in Sweden is very expensive so people eat more at home and bring lunch boxes to school and work, that has a big effect on portion sizes and how healthy the food you eat is. For kids the food you serve in schools in the US would be completely unacceptable over here. From what I understand people are also generally more active over here.

Look at society and you will see why cumulative wealth (after a certain minimum level) is not a good indicator of a populations health.

Ditto this-of course the US is relatively low compared to other industrialized nations. Our health policies and food subsidies pretty much guarantee that.

With food subsidies do you mean subsidies to farmers that produced ex sugar or do you mean food subsidies as in welfare?

Ha ha my minds rumblings about food subsidies reminded me of the urban myth that the US count potatoes as a vegetable. As in part of your "five a day" .

 

[chemgirl]

Canada - #14

Woot GO CANADA!

 

[Lady_Disdain]

Isn't Greece virtually bankrupt? but they rank 16th.

They have a well established health system, which has taken care of their citizens' health for many decades, with a high number of hospital beds and doctors. This way, most of the population has had basic health care from infancy. Even though they are cutting back public health spending, the population is in a better place than it would have been if it had never had a public health system or with a chronically bad one.

 

[iheartscience]

Sweden number 9.

Erm is the US position on the table a surprise to anyone? What can you expect when your health system is shaped the way it is. Add to that significant income inequality and you get what you get.

While history and geography have an important effect on the diet and living patterns of a population, you also have to consider what type of consumer society a country currently is. I always find it really interesting to visit local supermarkets in different country's. Spain for example has relatively no microwave food compared to Sweden. Meanwhile eating out in Sweden is very expensive so people eat more at home and bring lunch boxes to school and work, that has a big effect on portion sizes and how healthy the food you eat is. For kids the food you serve in schools in the US would be completely unacceptable over here. From what I understand people are also generally more active over here.

Look at society and you will see why cumulative wealth (after a certain minimum level) is not a good indicator of a populations health.

Ditto this-of course the US is relatively low compared to other industrialized nations. Our health policies and food subsidies pretty much guarantee that.

With food subsidies do you mean subsidies to farmers that produced ex sugar or do you mean food subsidies as in welfare?

Ha ha my minds rumblings about food subsidies reminded me of the urban myth that the US count potatoes as a vegetable. As in part of your "five a day" .

Yes, exactly-subsidies to farmers producing corn used in high fructose corn syrup vs. subsidies to farmers producing veggies. Here's an article about it:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/money_co/2011/09/taxpayers-funding-junk-food-farm-subsidies.html

 

[justginger]

#3 - Australia. Not surprised in the least. People here are much healthier, physically and emotionally, than where I grew up in the States.

 

[ZahraLeyla]

#3 - Australia. Not surprised in the least. People here are much healthier, physically and emotionally, than where I grew up in the States.

Yep, not surprised about this either. Especially in Perth, which isn't as built up as the bigger cities on the east coast, and where the weather is more favourable to outdoor pursuits, and also where the economy is going gangbusters.

 

[JulieN]

#3 - Australia. Not surprised in the least. People here are much healthier, physically and emotionally, than where I grew up in the States.

Can you please expand on this? Why are Australians so healthy? Healthcare system and costs, food habits, culture of being outdoors, fat-shaming?

 

[justginger]

All of the above, Julie. Great weather year round and a culture that is very sports-oriented results in lots of outdoor activity. Friends at home get together to play Guitar Hero; friends in Oz go play cricket or bocce in the park. Healthcare is more affordable - a script in MO cost me $70, was $12 over the counter in Perth. Food portions from restaurants, from McDonalds up to 5 star cuisine, are substantially smaller. A McD's large in Oz is between a small/medium in the States. Supersizing is not an option. Smoking has been made prohibitively expensive through taxation - last time I heard a packet of cigarettes is about $16-17. Smoking is also banned in all restaurants, pubs, health campuses, etc.

So lots of factors involved that I notice in daily life, and probably far more that I don't.

 

[kelpie]

Tanzania, 124 out of 145. That's like back home in West Virginia where we say thank god for Mississippi because we're second to last in everything.*

*Except teen smoking and teen pregnancy where we're number 1!

 

[Trekkie]

Tanzania, 124 out of 145. That's like back home in West Virginia where we say thank god for Mississippi because we're second to last in everything.*

*Except teen smoking and teen pregnancy where we're number 1!

LOL!

I'm in South Africa - 123, just above you, Kelpie!

 

[Blackpaw]

Tanzania, 124 out of 145. That's like back home in West Virginia where we say thank god for Mississippi because we're second to last in everything.*

*Except teen smoking and teen pregnancy where we're number 1!

haha, love it tell me, is good healthcare available in Tanzania if you can pay for it? in Dar perhaps?

 

[GreenBling]

Hong Kong #17

When did we declare independence? Thought we were a city?

 

[Astra]

Croatia - no. 36

 

[Asu]

Italy,2.
Pretty accurate,imho.

 

[kelpie]

Tanzania, 124 out of 145. That's like back home in West Virginia where we say thank god for Mississippi because we're second to last in everything.*

*Except teen smoking and teen pregnancy where we're number 1!

haha, love it tell me, is good healthcare available in Tanzania if you can pay for it? in Dar perhaps?

For the basics but anything complicated or surgical you would want to be evacuated. Even to have a baby I would go elsewhere. There's no safe blood supply and that sort of thing which is one of the things I work on here.

 

[nkarma]

All of the above, Julie. Great weather year round and a culture that is very sports-oriented results in lots of outdoor activity. Friends at home get together to play Guitar Hero; friends in Oz go play cricket or bocce in the park. Healthcare is more affordable - a script in MO cost me $70, was $12 over the counter in Perth. Food portions from restaurants, from McDonalds up to 5 star cuisine, are substantially smaller. A McD's large in Oz is between a small/medium in the States. Supersizing is not an option. Smoking has been made prohibitively expensive through taxation - last time I heard a packet of cigarettes is about $16-17. Smoking is also banned in all restaurants, pubs, health campuses, etc.

So lots of factors involved that I notice in daily life, and probably far more that I don't.

I would also love to hear your opinions on why mental/emotional health is better in Australia too. I am a Californian but was having a short convo with a friend from Perth about this.

And yes that whole list is no surprise. Of course us Americans would never want to be socialists like Europe. Look what will become of us!

 

[ZahraLeyla]

All of the above, Julie. Great weather year round and a culture that is very sports-oriented results in lots of outdoor activity. Friends at home get together to play Guitar Hero; friends in Oz go play cricket or bocce in the park. Healthcare is more affordable - a script in MO cost me $70, was $12 over the counter in Perth. Food portions from restaurants, from McDonalds up to 5 star cuisine, are substantially smaller. A McD's large in Oz is between a small/medium in the States. Supersizing is not an option. Smoking has been made prohibitively expensive through taxation - last time I heard a packet of cigarettes is about $16-17. Smoking is also banned in all restaurants, pubs, health campuses, etc.

So lots of factors involved that I notice in daily life, and probably far more that I don't.

I would also love to hear your opinions on why mental/emotional health is better in Australia too. I am a Californian but was having a short convo with a friend from Perth about this.

And yes that whole list is no surprise. Of course us Americans would never want to be socialists like Europe. Look what will become of us!

I think another important reason contributing to overall health and wellbeing is that we have a relatively high minimum wage, which means that people can actively participate in society instead of having to slave away at multiple jobs trying to make ends meet (not to say that doesn't happen, but it would be unusual). I think our overall approach to our community is different too - we tend to value the collective good to society over what is good for the individual (very much a generalisation though, and I detect a shift in this trend over the last decade or so). We have a number of safety nets that are designed to ensure that the less fortunate in society are looked after - a well functioning public health system, a comprehensive welfare system and we are about to trial a national disability insurance scheme. I think all of this subconsciously contributes to a feeling of safety and reassurance within Australians.

 

[natascha]

All of the above, Julie. Great weather year round and a culture that is very sports-oriented results in lots of outdoor activity. Friends at home get together to play Guitar Hero; friends in Oz go play cricket or bocce in the park. Healthcare is more affordable - a script in MO cost me $70, was $12 over the counter in Perth. Food portions from restaurants, from McDonalds up to 5 star cuisine, are substantially smaller. A McD's large in Oz is between a small/medium in the States. Supersizing is not an option. Smoking has been made prohibitively expensive through taxation - last time I heard a packet of cigarettes is about $16-17. Smoking is also banned in all restaurants, pubs, health campuses, etc.

So lots of factors involved that I notice in daily life, and probably far more that I don't.

I would also love to hear your opinions on why mental/emotional health is better in Australia too. I am a Californian but was having a short convo with a friend from Perth about this.

And yes that whole list is no surprise. Of course us Americans would never want to be socialists like Europe. Look what will become of us!

I think you are being ironic?

How do people around you react when they hear things like this? Does it create a discussion or is it ignored. I guess an other possibility would be that people truly believe that "freedom" is much more important.

 

[justginger]

I completely agree, ZL - you were able to put your finger right on it. The collective good of Australians is generally valued more than the good of individuals. Americans are very concerned with individual rights ("freedoms" as natascha says). But perhaps endless 'freedom' is actually counterproductive to the health and happiness of individuals, contrary to what one may expect. As parents know, endless freedom for children result in unhealthy, poorly adjusted adults. I think maybe that principle can be applied to whole societies.

I'm not sure how much actual effect the relatively high minimum wage has on society though - the cost of living is so much higher in Australia, it's almost completely negated. So I don't attribute physical/emotional health to more money. I do attribute it to a stronger economy in general, with a job for every person who wants one. I attribute it to a society that has a healthy work/life balance. Australians work to live, rarely the other way around. I find that my American friends/family sadly work far more hours, under more stress, with less appreciation and less holiday time than any of my Australian counterparts.

Another very important aspect of society in Australia that I think contributes to the emotional health of the entire nation is a very noticeable lack of extremism. Towards just about anything. People are not highly interested in politics, religion, war, whatever. The nation as a whole is very like-minded. I think it allows the citizens to coexist happily, not seriously worrying about what the next round of politicians will turn to law. The conservative party is mildly conservative, the liberal party is mildly liberal. There is something very powerful in knowing that your fellow citizens are on your same general wavelength in life.

My impressions only. There are certainly exceptions to all of these points in both countries, but those are key aspects that I think make Australia an emotionally healthy country.

 

[Echidna]

The collective good of Australians is generally valued more than the good of individuals.

Australians work to live, rarely the other way around. I find that my American friends/family sadly work far more hours, under more stress, with less appreciation and less holiday time than any of my Australian counterparts.

Another very important aspect of society in Australia that I think contributes to the emotional health of the entire nation is a very noticeable lack of extremism. Towards just about anything. People are not highly interested in politics, religion, war, whatever. The nation as a whole is very like-minded. I think it allows the citizens to coexist happily, not seriously worrying about what the next round of politicians will turn to law. The conservative party is mildly conservative, the liberal party is mildly liberal. There is something very powerful in knowing that your fellow citizens are on your same general wavelength in life.

Spot on, justginger. My first thought in response to JulieN's post was that we get more leave time (usually 20 work days, so 4 weeks) than Americans. Four weeks off in the sunshine in Queensland and I'm so relaxed I'm permanently lying down.

I've never considered Australia as collectivist, but I wonder if this an odd outcome of tall poppy syndrome (which I'm usually not proud of)? No one gets a big head, but there's a strong culture of "a fair go".

It's very kind of you to say Aussies are less extreme. Others would say we're a bunch of lazy slackers

 

[justginger]

Yes, Echidna, I do think it is a byproduct of tall poppy syndrome. Australians do their best to keep everyone on a level playing field, no massive winners, but consequentially no massive losers either. I generally dislike the tall poppy phenomenon as well, but this is the silver lining, in a way.

 

[movie zombie]

AU and the Perth area particularly have high employment and wages due to a booming mining industry and export to China. the growth going "north" of Perth when i was last there was beyond unbelieveable. i find aussies to be very interested in politics....because they think we're crazy here and want to talk about it. unfortunately, from what i understand, the health system as well as the educational system has been greatly influenced by american capitalism and costs are being transferred to "users/consumers" rather than being viewed as for the "common good". for instance, my husband's education was 100% free to him and his family. costs for medical care are going up there according my MIL.

i think others have called it correct. our system is a profit driven system. as long as it is profit driven, there can be no common good. everything in this country has become profit driven. its a shame.

 

[Echidna]

unfortunately, from what i understand, the health system as well as the educational system has been greatly influenced by american capitalism and costs are being transferred to "users/consumers" rather than being viewed as for the "common good". for instance, my husband's education was 100% free to him and his family. costs for medical care are going up there according my MIL.

MZ, it's true that health care and education are getting more expensive. In the 70s my parents didn't pay for their university education. However, my education (from 2001 to 2010; 2 bachelors degrees, Honours year, grad certificate and PhD) cost me $28 000 or so. I paid nothing upfront but a services charge ($200 a semester?) and textbooks. The PhD and grad cert cost me nothing at all (in fact, the uni paid me a stipend!), as they were higher research degrees and thus "beneficial" to society.

Our university system allows you to defer payment through the government (which I'm sure you know, but for the benefit of the discussion I thought I'd add it). It is indexed to inflation, so it does creep up if you don't start paying it back. You have to meet a minimum earning threshold (about $35 000 now I think) and there's a sliding scale of payment up to 8% of your wage. This is collected in tax before it ever gets to the ex-student, so there is no "loan repayment" but rather a nice bonus in your pay when you finally pay it off I think I'll be taxed extra for 6 years in total to pay it down (although I am now almost in the top payment bracket).

It always makes me sad that some US students are paying upwards of $150 000 for an education. How are they expected to make a decent living if they have to pay off masses of debt at high interest rates at a time they can least afford it? On the flip side, cost of living here is REALLY high so most of us stay in our home towns to go to uni. That is probably less beneficial than the US system of moving for college, in some respects, because I imagine that would force more independence. Even though I worked a part-time professional job all through my undergraduate degree, I had to live at home until I was 25. My poor parents!

 

[nkarma]

Thank you all for indulging me. I have a bad case of I am sick of being last on the industrialized nation list in terms of education, healthcare, quality of life, economic mobility, happiness, etc...My sister is moving to Perth may be forever so it should be interesting to here her take on cultural differences.