Quote:
Originally Posted by KatzPajamas
Just off the top of my head, I would think that the quality of healthcare in a nation is only a portion of the reason for a certain life expectancy. Not having studied the subject, I would think that lifestyle, diet, and various cultural factors should also be considered. Example that comes to mind is the recent loss of a cousin. He died of lung cancer that was far advanced before he sought medical help. He smoked like a chimney since he was 17 and never saw a use for doctors although married to a wonderful ICU nurse. This well loved man died at the ripe old age of 57, just 2 months after the diagnosis!
|
Lifestyle choices play a big part in a person's health and in many (not all) pre-term and low birth weight babies.
And then there are people whose genetics predispose them to early heart disease, cancers, etc. and their reasonable lifestyle choices are outdone by genetic inheritance.
Bottom line is we have the freedom to choose to drink, do drugs, eat our way into morbid obesity, etc., and while many claim to have no healthcare insurance, they do not enroll in Medicaid, and do not take advantage of county health department's clinics and services. Freedoms come with individual responsibilities attached.