The disparities between different socioeconomic classes and race play a critical role in why we are currently ranked 51st in the world in life expectancy according to the United States Central intelligence agency. Differences between life expectancy in the United States based on socioeconomic class and race are caused from several factors ranging from nutritional diet, to homicide rates that cause the imbalances of life expectancy; and cause the total life expectancy in our country to fall far from what it has the potential to be. There are solutions to this problem however; solutions that can be made that can shift these disparities between the high and low socioeconomic classes to a more even playing field. Before we can increase our country’s average life-span, we must identify the factors that cause the most significant contribution to our decline in life expectancy to make the greatest impact.
Nutrition is a critical role in increasing the general life expectancy of our population. According to the 2013 Center for Disease and Infection Control, two of the four leading causes of death are heart disease and stroke. Heart disease and stroke is generally something we can control based on the foods we eliminate from our diet. If we choose to eat processed foods that contain a high concentration of sodium, cholesterol and fat calories, heart disease and stroke has a much greater risk of occurring. Fast food restaurants are the juggernaut of unhealthy eating habits and according to CBS news, about one quarter of the U.S. population eats fast food each day. This is because foods in most fast food chains are incredibly cheap in terms of money; but is very costly when it comes to our health. Since fast food is typically cheaper than b...
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One out of every three Americans is obese and the majority of these obese people in the United States have eaten regularly at fast food restaurants. As the obesity rate increases, the number of fast food restaurants goes up as well. Although it is not certain, many believe that obesity in the United States is correlated to eating fast food. Since the United States has the highest obesity rate out of any country, it is important for Americans to monitor the fast food industry that may be causing obesity. With the pressure to get things done in a timely manner, fast food became a big necessity. However, when creating fast food restaurants, the industries were not thinking about the negative effects such as obesity. Other than obesity, other harmful effects exist as well. Fast food restaurants serve unhealthy products such as greasy foods and artificial meat that lead to dietary health issues in many adults and children. A recent study showed that “Young children who are fed processed, nutrient-poor foods are likely to become unhealthy teenagers, and eventually unhealthy adults. Now twenty-three percent of teens in the U.S. are pre-diabetic or diabetic, 22% have high or borderline high LDL cholesterol levels, and 14% have hypertension or prehypertension” (May, Kuklina, Yoon). The food that they provide is made to be eaten quickly, causing problems for the digestive system. Also, the health problems lead to the use for health insurance, which adds to the costs of Medicare. Health care costs will only worsen an already failing economy. Therefore, the government should regulate fast food restaurants in the United States in order to repair the deteriorating health and economy in America.
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Less is known, however, about how differences in the use of preventive services vary across subgroups of the uninsured population. As a whole, the uninsured receive less preventive care. When issues are discovered it is typically at more advanced disease stages, and once a diagnosis is received, the uninsured tend to receive less therapeutic care. 21 The uninsured population is not monolithic and spans all levels of household income, education, and age. Even though there has been a large amount of information created by work on preventive services, a gap remains in the literature. According to the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), an estimated 48.6 million people were uninsured in 2011. This figur...
America has a lower life expectancy. The life expectancy of the United States fares poorly to other countries. There are high mortality rates above the age of 50 because of the low performance of the health care system. While the US does screen well for cancer, survival rates of cancer, survival rates of heart attacks, strokes, and the medication for patients with high blood pressure or cholesterol. In greater depth there is a high mortality rate for prostate and breast cancer. We can see that the united States have a faster decline in the mortality rate for these two diseases than any other countries. And the gap between higher and lower income Americans has soared in recent decades according to a study. The failing wages for low income Americans have left 16 percent households classified as food insecure. And since America has a low life expectancy it’s hard to keep up with the diseases that are always popping up. Let’s take cancer for example, we have been fighting it for a long time and there is no cure for it. So the health insurance companies pay a lot to keep you for those treatments. And your health
Center for Disease Control and Prevention (C.D.C.) June 18, 1993. Mortality Trends and Leading Causes of Death Among Adolescents and Young Adults – United States, 1979-1988. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). 42(23);459-462
C. Wayne Sells and Robert Wm. Blum, "Morbidity and Mortality among US Adolescents: An Overview of Data and Trends," AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH Vol. 86, No. 4 (April, 1996), pgs. 513-519.
Nearly every American can agree that our current health care system needs reforms. Primarily do to the fact that 45.7 million Americans are without health insurance. That's approximately 16 percent of Americans who sometimes have to do without healthcare, or face crucial financial responsibility. The main issues are admission to healthcare, and the affordability of health care. Before 1920, doctors didn't know enough about diseases to really provide useful care to sick people. Therefore the...
Fast food is popular in America. In fact, one of America’s nicknames is “fast food nation,” (“Healthy” par. 1). It is quick and only takes a short amount of time to get the food. There are so many fast food restaurants in the world. Every corner people turn, there is another McDonald’s or a popular fast food restaurant. What people do not know about this easy way of eating is how unhealthy fast food really is. Quick food does not mean nutritious food. However, many Americans debate whether fast food restaurants should be required to show the nutrition in their food.
“Americans are not healthier than some of the other developed nations, regardless of these extensive costs” (WHO, 2007). “Almost 40 million Americans are uninsured and about 18% of Americans under the age of 65 receive half of the recommended healthcare services” (Goldman, and McGlynn, 2005). “Though, quality of care was