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U.S. Has the
Shortest Life-Expectancy of All Rich Nations.
At #38, U.S. Ties
With Lebanon, Beats Cuba By 4 Months.
Eric Zuesse, originally
posted at Strategic
Culture
According to the U.N.’s "Human Development Report
2019",
which is the latest available global information (published on 9 December
2019), the United States is the only country that ranks in
the top 15 on “Human Development” in which the life
expectancy at
birth is now below 80.0 years. On “Human Development” the
U.S. ranks as being #15 out of the 189 ranked countries, but is #38 on
the crucial life expectancy factor. (See page 300, here, for the complete rankings.) America’s life
expectancy is found to be over 1 year shorter than the 80.8 years of the
country that’s ranked #14 on “Human Development,” which is Denmark. That’s
80.8 years as the average age of death. America’s number is 78.9 years
— almost two full years shorter than Denmark’s, which is
the next-better-ranking country. By contrast, Japan, which ranks as being
#19 on overall “Human Development” (and so it isn’t even among the top 15
on that) has the world’s highest life-expectancy: 84.5 years. That’s 5.6
years higher life-span in Japan than in America. What can explain such a
huge discrepancy?
Some experts attribute that
extraordinarily high Japanese life-expectancy number to Japan's high consumption of the fermented soy food, natto, a uniquely Japanese food-staple, which contains the highest potencies of a
larger number of nutrients protective against both heart disease and
cancer, and also against osteoporosis, than any other known single food
does —
components including both nattokinase and vitamin MK-7 — or
“K2 (Menaquinone-7)” — as well as containing other promising but less-explored
nutrients, such as pyrazine. The research literature on nattokinase, in
particular, has become especially extensive, and nattokinase has been found
to be at least as effective against the precursors to heart disease and
strokes as are statin drugs (the drugs that are the standard medical
treatment to reduce a person’s risks of a heart attack or stroke), though
far less expensive, and entirely non-toxic. (All drugs have toxicity — are
poisonous — but nattokinase is instead a natural food-component, which has
been extensively tested for toxicity, and no nattokinase-toxicity has yet
been found.) Nattokinase is so powerful that its beneficial
effects are measurable even at the first dose. More research is constantly being done,
but natto is the likeliest
explanation,
thus far, of Japan’s extraordinarily high longevity, by reducing heart
disease, strokes, cancers, and bone fractures (and maybe other
ailments).
By contrast, the American
diet is considered to be one of the major reasons why the U.S. has perhaps
the shortest life-expectancy of the industrialized and wealthy nations.
However, America’s chaotic
healthcare system is
certainly another important reason for America’s notably short life-spans
amongst industrialized countries. For example, America is the only
industrialized nation in which fewer than 100% of citizens have health
insurance,
and America’s percentage is even below
90%;
so, America really stands
out, as a far-outlier, against all of the other countries, all of which have universal
health insurance. In fact,
two-thirds of personal bankruptcies in America are because of medical costs, and that situation doesn’t exist in any other
industrialized country, because health care in all those others is a right,
instead of a privilege that’s available only to people who have the ability
to pay for it. In America, this problem isn’t merely among the 15% or so of
individuals who have no health insurance; it’s also among the insured,
because of the necessary care that isn’t covered in insurance policies, all
of which are different from each other. Healthcare is perhaps the biggest
uncertainty in America. Insurance companies maximize profits by charging
the most money for the least coverage, and only few patients have actually
read and understood (far less, compared) the fine print on their insurance
contracts (each of which has different wordings and coverages). The
underlying assumption is that everyone is entirely responsible for oneself.
The Government has no responsibility. In that sense, there is no “society”:
socialism is despised, no matter whether it’s of the democratic type —
socialism itself is despised. This extreme type of
“individualism” is the American way. It’s a contrast to not only Japan, but
to all other industrialized countries. And this contrast
shortens Americans’ life-expectancies, as compared to other industrialized
countries.
So, those are two possible
major explanations for America’s relatively low life-expectancies.
Although the U.N. report
hides the life-expectancy rankings, and presents only the life-expectancy
numbers, Wikipedia in its “List of
countries by life expectancy” shows the nations directly by their
rank-order on that factor, of life expectancy. Japan is given the rank of
#2 there, because — since China’s enemies (especially the United States
Government) treat China as an enemy — they want to break
off, and grab whatever pieces from it, they can, which pieces would include
especially China’s richest city, Hong Kong, and therefore they prefer for
Hong Kong to count here as being an entire country of its own, instead of
as being a city within China — which it is. Britain had conquered
Hong Kong in 1842 to sell opium there, so China was forced to lease it
to Britain for 99 years, set to end on 1 July 1997, in order for Britain to be able temporarily to
continue its extremely lucrative opium-marketing business, which was
centered in Hong Kong. The imperialists then pretended that the 1997
return of full control, back to China, was an act of British generosity.
“Here, I give back to you what I stole from you — aren’t I generous!”
That’s the myth, and it continues, though in a different form, even today.
The CIA-edited and written Wikipedia blacklists
(blocks from linking to) sites that aren’t CIA-approved; so, Wikipedia could be expected to treat Hong
Kong as if it were a nation, instead of as a city in China. Whereas Hong
Kong’s life-expectancy in the 2019 report (based on 2018 data) was 84.7
years, Japan’s was 84.5 years, and that two-tenths of one percent advantage
to China’s richest city is the reason why Japan was listed there as #2:
it’s helpful as PR, in order to help to break Hong Kong off from China,
again.
Here are the top 38 on life
expectancy, in this U.S.-UK-controlled ranking:
Countries and
regions by life expectancy at birth in 2018 (2019 report)[7][8][9]
China was #59, at 76.7 years.
(China has far lower per-capita GDP, $9,800, than does its richest city,
Hong Kong, which is $49,000. Japan’s is $39,290.)
Russia was #106, at 72.4
years. (Its per-capita GDP is $11,290.)
The global average was 72.6
years
The bottom 12 countries were
all in sub-Saharan Africa, and were all below 60 years, and ranged from
52.8 to 59.4 years, in life expectancy.
The highest in sub-Saharan
Africa were: Botswana at 69.3 years, and Rwanda at 68.7 years. Botswana’s in 2001 was only 50 years, which was the same as it
had been in 1962.
Rwanda’s was likewise 50 years in 2001, but had been
only 22 in 1993, then 28 in 1994 which was the year of the genocide, and
rose steadily thereafter, to now being the second-highest longevity in
Black Africa: 68.7.
Russia’s life-expectancy in 2001 was 65.
China’s in 2001 was 72.
The biggest improvements have
occurred in Botswana and Rwanda; and, since Rwanda was below 30 years
throughout 1991-1994, its ascent from that hell has been the world’s most
remarkable, tripling its life-expectancy between 1993 and 2018 — just 25
years. (Rwanda also happens to be the
world’s least-corrupt nation.) This shows what can be done — what can be
achieved. It’s not impossible.
The U.S. life
expectancy has
ranged between 78.0 and 78.84 ever since 2008, through to 2018 — that
entire decade — flat, no progress the whole time. Perhaps this plateau is
the tipping-point, when the U.S. becomes, more clearly, an underdeveloped
country. Perhaps the best thing that could happen now for the American
people — especially since the nation’s life expectancy might now be heading
downward — would be for America to establish a natto industry of its own,
and try to compete with Japan, at least on nutrition (even if not on health
care). (Of course, socializing the healthcare function would also help
enormously, by increasing the health-insurance rate up to the global norm,
100%. It would certainly improve
America’s health care, while greatly lowering its cost.)
The first year of the U.N.’s
Human Development Reports was 1990. In that year, Japan scored in the top spot, #1,
on “Human Development.” Now it is #19. In that year, U.S. scored #19 on
“Human Development” (Japan’s current ranking). In that year, America’s life
expectancy was 75 years, and Japan’s was 79 years. China’s was 69 years. Russia’s
also was 69 years. Russia’s “Human Development” (which currently is ranked
at #49) was then ranked as “USSR” at #26. But, by the time of 1995, Russia’s “Human Development” rank had plunged
precipitously down, from #26, to #52. The U.S. had soared up to
#2, right below Canada, and right above Japan. (Canada had been #5 in 1990;
and the U.S. — as was mentioned — was #19, so it actually soared up 17
ranks in “Human Development,” within just five years. Russia shriveled, while
America blossomed.) By the time of 2000, Russia’s “Human Development” rank had sunk down
to #62 — the exact inverse of the Soviet Union’s 1990 rank of #26, and well
below Russia’s current rank of #49. So, today’s Russia still has a lower
(higher-numbered) “Human Development” rank than it did at the end of the
Soviet Union (#26), even though Russia has significantly improved its
life expectancy since that time (1991).
Russia’s
life expectancy had actually plateaued during all of the 1980s, at between
67 and 69 years. That’s just like America’s has plateaued, during
2008-2018, at between 78.0 and 78.9 years. Russia’s life expectancy sank
down to around age 65 by 1993, and didn’t restore to becoming age 67 again
until 2006, and it has kept on increasing, since then, to 72.4 years in
2018. So, Russia took approximately 16 years to recover its
life-expectancy, to 67, from the economic crash that had occurred with the
end of the Soviet Union. And it’s already become more than five years
higher than that. But America’s has now plateaued. Who, then, will be
America’s Mikhail Gorbachev? The Soviet Union’s highest plateau of life
expectancy turned out to have been a historic turning-point, for that
country. Might America’s highest plateau of life expectancy turn out to be
a historic turning-point, for the U.S., as well? Life expectancy is a
lagging indicator from a lot of other factors, but it could turn out to be
also a leading indicator of other, and extremely important, historical
events. Events such as, perhaps, the end of an empire. Maybe a natto
industry will start in America, as a trick to preserve the American empire,
instead of as a means to increase Americans’ life expectancies. A country
that’s controlled by
its billionaires could behave in that way — doing a good thing for
a bad reason. It’s often the case that good things are done for bad
reasons. It doesn’t mean that the thing is bad, or that the doer is good.
On the other hand, maybe the people who control America’s economy and
government won’t even care whether America’s life expectancy improves. If
they won’t care, then will what happened to the USSR, happen now to the
USA? It could happen. Looking at Donald Trump’s and Joe Biden’s
Presidential-campaign debate on September 29th did not seem to reflect a
rising world power. Maybe America’s plateaued life expectancies do foretell
America’s decline.
Going forward, now, into
the coronavirus era, America has the world’s
12th-highest percentage of its people infected with the Covid-19 virus, out
of the 213 reporting countries. That’s 22,484 cases per million, whereas
Japan has 657 cases per million. The global average is 4,389 cases, which
is 6.7 times higher than Japan. America’s rate is 5.1 times higher than
that global average, and is 34.2 times higher than Japan. China has 59
cases per million. Vietnam has 11 cases per million. Finland has 1,823
cases per million, but is having a second wave, which began July 17th. New Zealand has 369
cases per million. On Covid-19 death-rates, America’s is 639, the world’s
is 131, Japan’s is 12, China’s is 3, Vietnam’s is 0.4, and New Zealand’s is
5. These figures reflect not so much the quality of the nation’s
health-care system, but instead the quality of the nation’s public-health
system. (The up-to-the-minute data can be seen here.)
That is another important factor determining a nation’s life expectancy.
The U.S.’s future prospects, comparatively to other countries, certainly do
not appear to be better in the coronavirus era than during the prior
period. If anything, America’s prospects appear instead to have gotten even
worse.
—————
Investigative
historian Eric Zuesse is the author, most recently, of They’re Not Even Close: The Democratic vs. Republican
Economic Records, 1910-2010, and of CHRIST’S
VENTRILOQUISTS: The Event that Created Christianity.
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