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Originally Posted by ADL Colin
That is true and a very important point I would agree with you on. It is something to improve upon. Low birth weight issues are a primary cause of infant mortality in the US. it's interesting as my daughter was born 3 months early and received a month of medical attention at a major hospital and no one asked me anything about my ability to pay. She received all the care she needed. Of course we already have medicaid coverage for poor pregnant women so it is not clear government sponsored healthcare would help at all. Sudden Infant death Syndrome is the leading cause of infant death deaths once the child leaves the hospital. To what should that be attributed? Would increased health care help? I doubt it.
However, this factor in no way negates the huge effect that obesity has on life expectancy. Go look at the obesity % by country and the average number of years life is reduced. You are talking aout 1/4 of the country losing an average as high as 13 years of life to obesity.
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High infant mortality has a huge role in life expectancy as it can skew the grids. Many people in this country don't have the money to see a doctor regularly during their pregnancy. Premature babies are up 30% since the 80's. When women aren't getting the proper care during pregnancy, they have babies that have a lot of problems. It's embarrassing that the most technologically advanced, medically advanced, and richest country in the world is behind Cuba in keeping their infants alive.
Obesity is a problem, but what if individuals saw their doctors regularly? What if they went in twice a year for physicals, were able to meet with nutritionists, and taught how to eat and live better? What if they had a doctor tell them they would die if they didn't fix things? It's no secret that lower income households are the ones that suffer worst from obesity problems.