America, World Leaders in Obesity, Health Care Costs, Personal Energy Use, Defense Spending And… The Most Expensive Place In The World To Have A Baby.

“The best country in the world.” That’s how many Americans like to speak of their country and indeed, it is the reason many immigrants see the United States as the land of their dreams.

The microbes in our soil, on our plants, in our stomachs are all part of the Biosphere.  Antibiotics, herbicides, vaccines, pesticides, and the tens of thousands of synthetic chemicals we’ve created all have impacts and result in reactions from these microbes.

 

Mounting research indicates that problems in your gut can directly impact your mental health, leading to issues like anxiety, depression and obesity.

1. Obesity

Arriving in the U.S. as an immigrant, I was amazed at the size of restaurant portions. So it’s no surprise to learn that the U.S. has been ranked as the most obese country in the world (with) an estimated 100,000 to 400,000 deaths a year. In 2012, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 35.7 percent of American adults are obese, as well as 17% of children and adolescents.

   Experts indicate that the love of fast food, sugary drinks, processed food and sweet treats accounts for much of this, but those portion sizes are also to blame. It’s so easy to gain weight here since the ethic driven into people is to finish what’s on their plates. Since there’s so much put on people’s plates in the United States, they’re invariably going to end up eating more.

2. Health Care

Individuals spend more money per person on health care in the United States than in any other country in the world, about $5,300 annually. In comparison, Switzerland spends about $3,500 dollars per person per year, Japan about $2,000 and Turkey as little as $446 per person each year.

The main reason for the high cost of American health care is that most medical services, materials, technologies and drugs are more expensive than in other industrialized countries. Governments in many other countries play a much stronger role in financing health care services and their citizens are obliged to help pay for it through taxes. In return, all are usually covered by national health insurance. Obamacare, anyone?

http://truth-out.org/news/item/18099-five-shameful-ways-the-us-is-leading-the-world