Re:The average American has the same life expectancy as the ...
by sgc on Friday March 31, 2023 @11:22PM
(#35396776)
They are definitely important issues that I have been aware of for some time, just due to where I have lived over the years. However the author went a bit too far and lost sight of the forest for the trees.
Re:The average American has the same life expectancy as the ...
by whakim on Saturday April 01, 2023 @03:08PM
(#35403072)
One thing that isn't clear to me (and didn't seem to be addressed in any of the charts) is the percentage of the life expectancy disparity that is explained by the "likelihood of dying before age 40" disparity. To me, this is the key statistic that the author is missing because the original article isn't really about causes - which are only tangentially mentioned.
I still think drugs, guns, and accidents are worth specifically highlighting even if they aren't the single biggest driver of this disparity in life expectancy. I'd wager that most people are aware of America's obesity epidemic, but they might not realize the extent to which these three (big) factors make the US unlike it's peers. I certainly didn't.