On Sat, Oct 10, 2009 at 8:19 PM, c b <[email protected]> wrote: > From: Gar Lipow > > > c b <cb31...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: >>> >>> The life expectancy of Americans is above average for the world. Can >>> their diets be that "unhealthy" ? >>> >>> And, everybody dies (smile). >>> >>> Charles >>> >>> >>> I think I'll cc James Heartfield with this post >>> >>> http://archives.econ.utah.edu/archives/pen-l/2009w40/date.htm >>> _______________________________________________ > > > Umm, U.S. life expectancy is low compared to nations with comparable > economies, for that matter compared to many nations in the global > south. > > ^^^^^^^ > CB: I can't tell whether you are saying it is below or above average > for the whole world . On the list below it is 38th out of 195 > countries and about 12 years above the world life expectancy.
I was pointing out that "the whole world" is the wrong comparison. Wealth affects health (though is not the only factor). The U.S. life expectancy may be higher than the world average, but the world average includes people in war zone, people who are literally starving, people exposed to more coal fumes than the most polluted U.S. urban or rural areas and so on. A reasonable comparison is other rich nations, and people in other rich nations live longer than we do. So the U.S. is less healthy on average than other nations with comparable Per Capita incomes. _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
