Study finds US lags in health measures

A new national study has found that although the United States spends more on health care per capita than any other nation, it lags behind other industrialized countries on a wide range of health measures (Source: "Americans’ health lags other nations," Reuters via Columbus Dispatch, Jan. 10, 2013).

The report by the National Research Council and Institute of Medicine concluded that the U.S. ranked last among the 17 countries studied in nine areas including infant mortality, obesity and heart disease. Americans did have fewer deaths from cancer and better control of cholesterol and blood pressure.

“Americans are dying and suffering at rates that we know are unnecessary, because people in other high-income countries are living longer lives and enjoying better health. What concerns our panel is why, for decades, we have been slipping behind,” said Steven Woolf, a medical professor at Virginia Commonwealth University.