Lifestyle vs. Money for Health

There's an interesting story in 24/7 Wall Street comparing how much countries spend on health care and their resulting longevity. As expected, the United States fares poorly. We spend more than anyone else by a long shot but don't live as long as most other industrialized countries. What makes the article interesting is that it highlights the importance of lifestyle.

Japan was rated as the best and they spend only 8.1% of GDP on health care compared to the nearly 17% spent by the United States. However more important is the fact that just 3.4% of Japan's population is obese compared with 34% in America. In short, lifestyle matters.

As much as we need to change our health care system it's even more important that we change our lifestyle.