A group of Harvard researchers have discovered how the overall health of the U.S population is sliding farther than expected — by comparing it to Canada. Canada and the U.S., after all, are very much alike in most categories, including the health of citizens. (While the U.S. gets chastised a lot for its obesity epidemic, the truth is that Canadians overall are not doing so great in that department, either.) Yet new evidence shows just how far Americans’ health is sliding — and you can really see this when you compare two populations with nearly identical lifestyles.
According to the study, Americans are 42% more likely than Canadians to have diabetes, 32% more likely to be diagnosed with hypertension, and 12% more likely to have arthritis. These numbers are culled from a telephone survey that was conducted in both countries where adults were asked about their health.
Just one month earlier, a different study found that U.S. residents, on average, are more prone to illness than people who live in England. This prompted experts to quip that “We’re really falling behind other nations” when it comes to health.
The gaping differences between Canada and the U.S. are surprising, particularly with the significantly higher risk of Type 2 diabetes in Americans. The health-care system in Canada, with its national insurance, may account for some of the differences, as all Canadian citizens have access to care that helps prevent disease. The facts seem to back up this assertion, as insured Americans and Canadians had roughly the same rate of disease — it was the uninsured Americans who made the picture worse.
In all, researchers questioned 3,500 Canadians and 5,200 Americans from 2002 to 2003. Here’s a rundown of the interesting statistics they found that, when applied to the entire population, become far more noticeable:
– 6.7% of Americans reported having diabetes compared to 4.7% of Canadians
– 18.3% of Americans reported having high blood pressure compared to 13.9% of Canadians
– 18% of Americans reported having arthritis compared to 16% of Canadians
– 21% of Americans reported experiencing obesity compared to 15% of Canadians
– 13.5% of Americans reported leading a sedentary lifestyle compared to 6.5% of Canadians
– 42% of Americans rated their quality of health care as “excellent” as compared to 39% of Canadians
– 80% of Americans had a regular doctor compared to 85% of Canadians
– 10% of Americans said they needed medicine they Couldn’t afford compared to 5% of Canadians
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Tags: Arthritis, obesity
