# How unhealthy is the United States really? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 3, 2017, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-unhealthy-is-the-united-states-really/797849 "2017-10-03T05:28:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2017, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-unhealthy-is-the-united-states-really/797849/61 "2017-10-10T12:41:58Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Smaller food portions might be a factor, too - American portions are huge in comparison to other places. Rates of obesity and overweight in Australia, UK and New Zealand are about as bad as the US, but their life expectancy is 3-4 years longer than ours. 81-82 there vs 78 here. Greece has one of the highest smoking rates of western nations, supposedly 40% smoke, but their life expectancy is still 81. I really don’t understand the connection between poor lifestyle and life expectancy on the national level. It seems almost like rates of smoking and obesity are not that important for national life expectancy. No idea why. On the personal level they can take 5-10 years off supposedly. ---
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2017, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-unhealthy-is-the-united-states-really/797849/62 "2017-10-11T00:26:54Z")
We shouldn’t be talking only about life expectancy. We should be talking about QUALITY of life. What good is living to 80 years old if you have spent the last 20 years in such an unhealthy state that you can barely walk from the parking lot to the entrance of the local Walmart? And the reason you are still alive is because you are taking a series of pills that have all kinds of unpleasant side effects. The reason most older people can’t walk well and have to take pills to survive is because when they were younger they ate too much and what they ate contained too much fat, sugar and salt. They also neglected to exercise. And at the time, they KNEW they had an unhealthy lifestyle, but couldn’t be bothered to change. And the thing is that its often not too late to go to a fitness doctor and have them put you on a diet and exercise routine even if you are in your eighties. People do it all the time. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-unhealthy-is-the-united-states-really/797849/63 "2017-10-12T01:42:51Z")
This is a photo shoot from The Guardian today, the comments section reflects some of the thoughts expressed in this thread: > **[Virginians visited by mobile clinic – in pictures](https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2017/oct/10/virginia-remote-area-medical-mobile-clinic-in-pictures)** > > The Remote Area Medical’s clinic provides free dental, visual and general health services to hundreds of people in remote areas of the US ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2017, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-unhealthy-is-the-united-states-really/797849/64 "2017-10-12T03:05:19Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > I just came back from Italy. My traveling companion and I both noticed that even though the cuisine was a little on the heavy side (lots of carbs, lots of dairy, lots of oil), people weren’t as overweight as Americans. We also noticed that there were a lot of smokers, despite [health statistics being more favorable towards Italians than Americans](http://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/compare/Italy/United-States/Health). > > Could the key be in the fact that Italians practice better [sleep hygiene?](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2981826/) Does the Italian [siesta](https://www.huffingtonpost.com/marta-mondelli/quality-of-life-the-itali_b_152715.html) confer stress management benefits? It is also true that [Italians](https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/19/the-pedometer-test-americans-take-fewer-steps/) are more active than Americans, even when [socializing](https://livelikeanitalian.com/2015/06/03/relax-like-an-italian-the-art-of-the-passeggiata/). Maybe all of these things combined mitigate the negative health consequences of a pasta-laden, nictotine-rich lifestyle. It probably also helps that Italians have better access to medical care, enjoying twice the number of physicians per capita as Americans at much less cost (see the first link). They also get a ton more time off of work than Americans do too, which should in theory reduce their stress levels as well. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-unhealthy-is-the-united-states-really/797849.md?page=3)