These Are the World's Healthiest Nations

[Walt34]

America's not obese? Please look around you. It's a national epidemic that our country does not want to address.

It depends on where you look. Today at the gym out of perhaps 60 people there (including staff) I saw exactly one obese person, and she was a newbie being instructed by one of the staff.

Yesterday I was in a Walmart store. There sure are a lot of obese people there!

I'll not speculate on why those two environments were so different.

 

[MichaelB]

US came in at 35. With all the money we spend on healthcare I would have expected to be on top 10.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...-as-world-s-healthiest-nation-while-u-s-slips

You have a good point. I think this indicates that what we have in the US is not better care, just higher prices.

 

[Walt34]

Personal responsibility includes how you were raised, who influences you, what hero you aspire to be like and the means to get there. No one can be forced to change their habits. If that were so, I'd write a book called "How to Change Your Husband." Then a book called "How to Change the World" Then a book called "Listen to Me, I Change You." Do these titles sound somewhat familiar, in a different way?

You left out "How to change your wife..."

 

[BigNick]

Nutritional epidemiology is FUBAR. Seriously.

During my PhD studies (hopefully coming to a successful conclusion soon), I've spent time with statisticians and biopsychosocial researchers of various stripes. I've read their academic papers, and I've hung out with them at conference bars. After a couple of drinks, most will admit that they don't have much certainty about anything.

There is basically no reliable evidence for anything beyond "don't smoke, don't drink a bottle of whiskey a day, and try to get your BMI below 25". (Why are there jokes about little old ladies? Because there are no big old ladies.)

 

[flintnational]

My wife and I are so health conscious, we spent a couple of weeks in Spain last year! Now that Spain is #1 we might need to go back. I am not sure if it is the tempranillo, manchego or pata negra that improves health. But, we will keep eating and drinking all just to be sure. Sorry, I must go now. A bottle of Rioja is calling. (At this rate, I am thinking we may out live the money.)

 

[ShokWaveRider]

The one thing that most of them have in common is that they are basically liberal countries with some kind of countrywide healthcare system for all their citizens. Nothing new here. Their systems basically work.

 

[Nick12]

The one thing that most of them have in common is that they are basically liberal countries with some kind of countrywide healthcare system for all their citizens. Nothing new here. Their systems basically work.

+1/ Universal Health Care!

 

[haha]

Fitness depends on what area you live in.

In my area we have a lot of active outdoor people. So, you can see many fit folk wherever you go. Alas, they are still in a minority. My doctor told me last year that he used to see 1 or 2 morbidly obese people a week when he started his practice nearly 30 years ago. Now he sees 1 or 2 a day.

I think one of the issues is that while the overweight segment of the population may not have increased in numbers as much as we think it has, those in that group are on the average significantly heavier than similar people 20 years ago. This is a thought on my part, not a documented fact. I have no evidence other than my own empirical observations to back it up.

Note: I am very sympathetic to the plight of the overweight. They live in a world where there is too much questionable food that makes us gain weight combined with terrible nutritional policies/advice of our government and certain 'public service' organizations for over 30 years. They are supposed to summon up the willpower to resist their native body chemistry for the rest of their lives - a ridiculous idea. I was well on my way there, trying and failing many times to lose 20-30 pounds and more importantly stop the yearly weight gain that had me adding 1/2 to 1 inch to my waistline every year. Thankfully, I listened to Dr. Lustig's Sugar, the Bitter Truth video which got me going in the right direction.

Much valuable information here. If people did nothing but completely cut out sugar our national health would get very much better. I weigh 145 and my middle age GF weighs 101. We eat and drink freely, but we never eat sugar or any starch. It's not that I never did, and I have the metal in my teeth to testify to that. But I was young and so active that I never did get even a little fat. If can look good and feel good and never be hungry, all for the ridiculously small effort of cutting out sugar, I'm never going to taste sugar again. And I haven't for at least 25 years. I have read that if you ever do get fat, controlling your weight is likely to be a hard row for the rest of the way.

Neighborhoods really vary as regards obesity. Not going to see many fat people in an affluent neighborhood, or in a neighborhood like where I live. Hills all over, many people walking to work or to wherever else they are going. I first came to this area ~12 years ago, when I was about 65. I used to puff when going up some of the hills in a hurry, but now I still go up as fast, but without being short of breath. Just from doing it. But young people still pass me easily, and this will likely get worse as time goes on.

Ha

 

[NW-Bound]

There is basically no reliable evidence for anything beyond "don't smoke, don't drink a bottle of whiskey a day, and try to get your BMI below 25". (Why are there jokes about little old ladies? Because there are no big old ladies.)

I like this. Most of the old men you see are wiry guys.

My current BMI: 23.3.

PS. Just stepped on the scale to doublecheck. Oops. 23.8 BMI.

My wife's BMI is less than 22.

 

[MRG]

I like this. Most of the old men you see are wiry guys.

My current BMI: 23.3.

+1

Most doctors are slender too. Maybe they know something?

 

[Nemo2]

Just stepped on the scale to doublecheck. Oops. 23.8 BMI.

My wife's BMI is less than 22.

Mine around 23.7 DW around 19.8 (both fluctuate slightly)

 

[HI Bill]

I went to what was formerly the Netherlands Antilles (Bonaire), and ate a lot, inlcuding desserts every day. I did 2 or 3 dives a day (not too much exercise, actually). The food servings were smaller, less fatty, and much healthier. No sugared sodas, not much fried food, no fast food. I lost weight over an 8-day period. The Japanese also eat smaller portions, and while they eat high-salt diets, theirs is traditionally low-fat. They walk/ride the bike, and take public transportation, on the whole, driving little.

We (Americans), drive almost everywhere, walk very little, drink sugared sodas and coffee drinks, eat chips, snacks, prepared foods, fried foods, and do little exercise, as a whole. We depend on modern medicine to fix our ailments.

When I had high cholesterol a few years back, my doctor wanted to give me cholesterol-lowering pills. I asked him to let me try improving my diet and exercise more. He practically fell off his stool, but after raising his eyebrows, agreed. I was able to lower my cholesterol to acceptable levels for a while!

I don't really doubt the results of the study, knowing what I know, and having been to Bonaire and Japan. Just check out what people buy at COSTCO or the grocery store, on average, and you'll know the answer!

 

[HillCountry]

Anybody know how they rank the countries. Mentioned longevity many times in the article, maybe that’s the main criteria.

“Final index only included nations with at least 0.3 million population and sufficient data.”. So that they can cut off right at Iceland?

 

[audreyh1]

Go olive oil and wine!

 

[mamadogmamacat]

What haha said about sugar is the key.

At least it has been for me.

Both avoiding directly ingesting sugar and also avoiding, mostly, food items that turn into sugar quickly in the body, such as starches and most other simple carbs.

Unfortunately, this means no fast food and rarely if ever setting food in most of the aisles in grocery store.

hence why it is a problem for so many in this country. illegal drugs are not the only problem, sugar is highly addictive. Add in the suicides and the way we count infant mortality, and I'm actually surprised we are not even worse than #35.

The cost of healthcare and any solutions to it, will not solve this problem.

 

[robnplunder]

US came in at 35. With all the money we spend on healthcare I would have expected to be on top 10.

Glass half empty ... I am surprised that US is ranked so high, home of the McDonalds.

 

[Nick12]

It depends on where you look. Today at the gym out of perhaps 60 people there (including staff) I saw exactly one obese person, and she was a newbie being instructed by one of the staff.

Yesterday I was in a Walmart store. There sure are a lot of obese people there!

I'll not speculate on why those two environments were so different.

Wal Mart should take over the Sears jingle..

" Where America shops! "

 

[Nick12]

I AM looking around, and I see both overweight people as well as millions of insanely fit exercise fanatics sporting less fat in their whole bodies than I have in my thumb.

I assure you it's NOT a uniform distribution.

WOW. An area where millions are like this. My gym rat friends and me would like to vacation at this spot!

 

[Col. Klink]

It depends on where you look. Today at the gym out of perhaps 60 people there (including staff) I saw exactly one obese person, and she was a newbie being instructed by one of the staff.

Yesterday I was in a Walmart store. There sure are a lot of obese people there!

I'll not speculate on why those two environments were so different.

The place to go to get motivated to diet and exercise is Golden Corral. Just sit in the parking lot and watch the stream of morbidly obese people stream in like pigs to the trough. Makes you want to go home and saute some spinach in olive oil and sea salt, have a nice piece of fish, and perhaps a pinot grigio to overcome the shock and horror you witnessed.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

The cost of healthcare and any solutions to it, will not solve this problem.

This is simply not true. When people have access to HC without having to worry about copayments, coinsurance, insurance, and associated extra costs, they go to the docs when they need to and get attention before really costly solutions are the only options. Most if not all the countries mentioned have some form of socialized medicine. We Americans need to get our blinkers off and go with what really works from a healthcare perspective.

 

[NW-Bound]

If we agree with what mamadogmamacat wrote, and I quote below, then giving citizens unlimited doctor visits will not solve any problem.

How common are cases where a doctor is able to talk a patient out of drugs, or into successful dieting and exercise?

If seeing doctors frequently can help a person's well being, then we should see people generally getting healthier when they are past the age of 65 when they qualify for Medicare.

... illegal drugs are not the only problem, sugar is highly addictive. Add in the suicides and the way we count infant mortality, and I'm actually surprised we are not even worse than #35...

 

[MRG]

If we agree with what mamadogmamacat wrote, and I quote below, then giving citizens unlimited doctor visits will not solve any problem.

How common are cases where a doctor is able to talk a patient out of drugs, or into successful dieting and exercise?

If seeing doctors frequently can help a person's well being, then we should see people generally getting healthier when they are past the age of 65 when they qualify for Medicare.

I know some people will disagree but sugar addiction is nonsense! The notion sells books, makes people feel better, and is an insult to those who suffer from addiction. Yes sugar is enjoyable and you will find eating it can cause cravings, but that is far from physical addiction.

Eat 40 milligrams of oxy for months and tell me about "sugar addiction". When I came off that dosage it was several weeks of reducing the dose, and some white knuckles. Sugar was a decision to quit and done.

A friend committed suicide coming off of opioids, he is not the only person who has done that. How many people kill themselves over sugar?

I walked by a doctor's office yesterday and they had a prominent sign stating "no narcotics are kept here", ever seen one about no candy?

 

[NW-Bound]

Well, there are different levels of addiction. I used to smoke cigarettes, and told myself that it was not an addiction and I could quit anytime. And I did quit a few times.

I finally kicked the habit in a European trip in 2003 when I ran out of cigarettes, and was about to look for a tobacconist and decided to quit for real. I did not suffer any real pain, but quitting was hard.

Have not smoked any since that day, and I would know the exact date if I look at the travel photos as I remember where I was standing in Monaco when making that decision.

 

[becca]

Hmmm...not to get political but I can't resist adding that the current leader of the US, is officially obese, eats junk food and doesn't exercise. Definitely not a poster boy for healthy living.

 

[Nemo2]

I finally kicked the habit in a European trip in 2003 when I ran out of cigarettes, and was about to look for a tobacconist and decided to quit for real. I did not suffer any real pain, but quitting was hard.

Interesting, different physical/psychological reactions people undergo.....DW's daughter's husband successfully quit a few years ago, but he 'had' to utilize patches, etc, to accomplish it, (and this isn't a guy one would classify as 'weak willed').

I stopped smoking ~42 years ago....just tossed half a packet of cigarettes in the waste basket. Never smoked again, and never had a problem.