US ranks worst in preventable deaths..What can we do?

[Guest guest]

Hi,

First we can not support the fast food industry!

You know in our family we have these discussions all the time about

what can we do...to not feel powerless? in our own lives?

I agree a revolution needs to happen and it starts with each and

everyone of us here and in our circle of friends.

Demand better FOOD...demand better health care...demand PREVENTATIVE

health measures be taught in our schools!!!!

We are a dieing nation because we are malnurished. We rae over weight

because we are malnurished, we are dis-eased because we are

malnurished.IF we had choices, and lots of them, to eat healthy,

nutrient rich foods, we wouldn't be tempted by the BAD foods. I am

personally seeing a change in myself since being diagnosed. I'm

changing what i am eating and my body now is finally directing me

towards better choices when it comes to feeding my body. I don't

want the salt and fat and sugar. It's an odd thing to experience and

even more odd to try and explain to someone who hasn't gone through

it.

We must demand from our own goverment that we have a CHOICE of

healthy, locally grown, organic food to feed ourselves and our

families.

We have companies like MONSANTO doing things you wouldn't believe to

our beef/milk supply/ and our seeds!

What say you?

What will you do in the next month to stand up for what you believe

needs to be done in this country..this affluent country that should

have the healthiest population..but doesn't.

Be well...

~Amy~

in Missouri

>

> OK, a little sarcasm in the subject line there. I'm not going to get

> political here, but if SOMEONE in government doesn't start doing

> something SOON, then it's time for a revolution, frankly. It's far

> past embarrassing at this point--it's criminal. I am holding all

these

> candidates to their promises.

>

> http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080108/hl_nm/deaths_rankings_dc

>

>

>

> France best, U.S. worst in preventable death ranking

>

> By Will Dunham Tue Jan 8, 12:21 AM ET

>

> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - France, Japan and Australia rated best and

the

> United States worst in new rankings focusing on preventable deaths

due

> to treatable conditions in 19 leading industrialized nations,

> researchers said on Tuesday.

>

> If the U.S. health care system performed as well as those of those

top

> three countries, there would be 101,000 fewer deaths in the United

> States per year, according to researchers writing in the journal

> Health Affairs.

>

> Researchers Ellen Nolte and McKee of the London School of

> Hygiene and Tropical Medicine tracked deaths that they deemed could

> have been prevented by access to timely and effective health care,

and

> ranked nations on how they did.

>

> They called such deaths an important way to gauge the performance

of a

> country's health care system.

>

> Nolte said the large number of Americans who lack any type of health

> insurance -- about 47 million people in a country of about 300

> million, according to U.S. government estimates -- probably was a

key

> factor in the poor showing of the United States compared to other

> industrialized nations in the study.

>

> " I wouldn't say it (the last-place ranking) is a condemnation,

because

> I think health care in the U.S. is pretty good if you have access.

But

> if you don't, I think that's the main problem, isn't it? " Nolte said

> in a telephone interview.

>

> In establishing their rankings, the researchers considered deaths

> before age 75 from numerous causes, including heart disease, stroke,

> certain cancers, diabetes, certain bacterial infections and

> complications of common surgical procedures.

>

> Such deaths accounted for 23 percent of overall deaths in men and 32

> percent of deaths in women, the researchers said.

>

> France did best -- with 64.8 deaths deemed preventable by timely and

> effective health care per 100,000 people, in the study period of

2002

> and 2003. Japan had 71.2 and Australia had 71.3 such deaths per

> 100,000 people. The United States had 109.7 such deaths per 100,000

> people, the researchers said.

>

> After the top three, Spain was fourth best, followed in order by

> Italy, Canada, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden, Greece, Austria,

> Germany, Finland, New Zealand, Denmark, Britain, Ireland and

Portugal,

> with the United States last.

>

> PREVIOUS RANKINGS

>

> The researchers compared these rankings with rankings for the same

19

> countries covering the period of 1997 and 1998. France and Japan

also

> were first and second in those rankings, while the United States was

> 15th, meaning it fell four places in the latest rankings.

>

> All the countries made progress in reducing preventable deaths from

> these earlier rankings, the researchers said. These types of deaths

> dropped by an average of 16 percent for the nations in the study,

but

> the U.S. decline was only 4 percent.

>

> The research was backed by the Commonwealth Fund, a private New

> York-based health policy foundation.

>

> " It is startling to see the U.S. falling even farther behind on this

> crucial indicator of health system performance, " Commonwealth Fund

> Senior Vice President Schoen said.

>

> " The fact that other countries are reducing these preventable deaths

> more rapidly, yet spending far less, indicates that policy, goals

and

> efforts to improve health systems make a difference, " Schoen added

in

> a statement.

>

> (Editing by Osterman)

>