USA's Health Versus Obesity, Commercialism and Conspiracy Theories

USA United States of America [Country Profile Page]
Status	Independent State
Social and Moral Index	38th best
Capital	Washington
Land Area	9 147 420km21
Location	North America, The Americas
Population	327.1m2
Life Expectancy	77.20yrs (2017)3
GNI	$64 765 (2017)4
ISO3166-1 Codes	US, USA, 8405
Internet Domain	.us6
Currency	Dollar (USD)7
Telephone	+18

The USA does relatively well in encouraging good health, compared to many other countries. The USA comes in the best 20 in its food aid and health contributions and WHO compliance₉ (one of the lowest in The Americas). It does better than average in its average life expectancy₁₀ (although the USA is unique for a modern country, in that this is now declining₁₁), its fertility rate₁₂ and in its adolescent birth rate₁₃ (amongst the best in The Americas). But, things could still be better. The US healthcare system is the most costly, least accessible and least cost efficient amongst democracies. The USA does worse than average in its suicide rate₁₄, its immunizations take-up₁₅, its smoking rate₁₆, its alcohol consumption rate₁₇ (amongst the highest in The Americas) and in the prevalence of overweight adults₁₈ (one of the worst in The Americas). The prevalence of overweight adults has increased by 14% over the past 40 years.

Many US chronic diseases are preventable through lifestyle choices₁₉ but the health sector is distorted by commercialist pressures and symptoms of long-term mismanagement; poor messaging and education feeds a widespread public reliance on pseudoscience, wellness fads, and unproven quack remedies. Annual spending on alternative remedies rose 50% in the 1990s, to $27 billion₂₀. The food industry that has little incentive to make healthy food cheaper by default; its powerful lobby produces swathes of misinformation and misleading advertising that obscures any evidence-based guidance on nutrition and lifestyle.

In 2025, the Trump administration has been making things substantially worse. Key health and science positions have been filled by vocal anti-science figures who have dismissed experts, dismantled research, suppressed studies, and erased data that contradicts their personal beliefs (which are often based in conspiracy theories). Science and health research has been decimated. and 2025 stands as one of the most perilous and regressive years for health in the USA, causing added dysfunction that will take a decade to fix.

1. USA's Health
   1. Cultural Health Sector Problems
   2. Pseudoscience, Misinformation and Alternative Therapies
2. Adult Health Datasets
   1. Life Expectancy
   2. Alcohol Consumption
   3. Fertility Rate
   4. Smoking Rates
   5. Suicide Rate
   6. Food Aid, Health Contributions & WHO Compliance
   7. Overweight Adults
   8. Adult Obesity
3. Children's Health Datasets
   1. Adolescent Birth Rate
   2. Infant Immunizations 2011-2015
4. Links

---

1. USA's Health

#health

Health (2025)21
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank21
1	Monaco	14.3
2	Liechtenstein	30.1
3	Isle of Man	32.1
	...
54	Croatia	77.2
55	Antigua & Barbuda	77.6
56	Greece	77.8
57	USA	78.7
58	British Virgin Islands	78.7
59	Israel	79.3
60	Czechia	79.5
61	Malta	79.7
	World Avg	97.60
q=213.

The countries with the best overall approach to public health, in terms of both public policy and individual lifestyle choices, are Monaco, Liechtenstein and The Isle of Man₂₂. These countries are worth emulating. And, although often through no fault of the average citizen, the worst countries are The Cook Islands, The Marshall Islands and Niue₂₂.

25 datasets are used to calculate points for each country, including multiple decades of data on its average life expectancy, its alcohol consumption rate, its fertility rate, its smoking rate, its suicide rate, its food aid and health contributions and WHO compliance, the prevalence of overweight adults, obesity rate, its adolescent birth rate and its immunizations take-up. The regions with the best average results per country are Scandinavia, Europe and The Balkans₂₂, whereas the worst are Micronesia, Africa and Australasia₂₂.

For more, see:

• "Countries With the Healthiest Cultures and Health Policies" by Vexen Crabtree (2020).

Cultural Health Sector Problems

#USA

The core problem with US health, is US culture. Many US chronic diseases are preventable through lifestyle choices₁₉. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that eliminating poor diet, inactivity and smoking would prevent 80% of heart disease and stroke cases, 80% of type 2 diabetes developments and 40% of all cancer₁₉.

US health services are provided at cost according to a commercialist regime, but almost nothing - just 4% of health spending - is on preventative education and programmes on healthy behaviour. This is because the health system is designed to provide chargeable services, with no particular pressure to lookout for holistic health, and very few bodies responsible for managing the combination of lifestyle, environment and long-term causes of ill-health. Social care spending is simply worth it, not least for the humanitarian factor, but economically: "A review of eight health promotion programs found a savings in health care costs of $3.35 for every dollar invested"₁₉.

In fighting bad diets and obesity, other countries take measures such as banning the advertising of junk food to children, not allowing fast-food outlets within a certain distance of schools, and, the best examples of all are set by the public health systems of Europe, where, compared to commercial and insurance-led health systems, the state pays for a much greater portion of health care, and therefore, there are public bodies that absolutely have in their interests preventative care, preventative education, and closer regulation of the food sector; because each step in those directions saves the state money later. Regardless of higher taxes, the result is a happier and healthier population, and much less spent on health care overall, than in the USA.

Pseudoscience, Misinformation and Alternative Therapies

#alternative_therapies #health #pseudoscience #USA

The health sector is distorted by commercialist pressures and symptoms of long-term mismanagement; poor messaging and education feeds a widespread public reliance on pseudoscience, wellness fads, and unproven quack remedies. A powerful food-industry lobby produces swathes of misinformation and misleading advertising that obscures any evidence-based guidance on nutrition and lifestyle.

The result is a population that is lost, and medical system that panders to those who are lost. One in four US adults use some form of alternative therapy₂₃.

“Alternative medicine's popularity appears to be increasing. [...] Americans spent $27 billion on alternative medicine, a 50 percent increase from 1990. [...] Responding to consumer demand, health care companies have extended coverage to a number of alternative practices including chiropractic and acupuncture.

[But medical education is not addressing it well enough. Dr Wallace Sampson notes] not only a "science gap" but a "knowledge of science gap." He said that there has been enough study of some therapies like homeopathy that have been proven to be "physically impossible and worthless," but both consumers and physicians seldom are made aware.”

Skeptical Inquirer (1999)₂₀

Mainstream medical professionals are having to spend an increasing amount of time dealing with the damage done by alternative medicine; the disinformation and confusion it causes, the delays in seeking real medical help causes problems to become more complicated and more expensive to treat, and in the USA where political interference means that alternative products are being pushed top-down, the very case for science-based, carefully-checked medicine is having to be made. Doctors are having to become teachers, and medical bodies are having to justify their own existence. All of this is a worrying distraction from spending time on actually implementing treatments that are already proven, on a populace (and political cadre) that is misinformed and reluctant to listen.

2. Adult Health Datasets

2.1. Life Expectancy

#demographics #health #hong_kong #immigration #japan #life_expectancy #longevity #population

Life Expectancy Higher is better10
Pos.		2021 Years10
1	Monaco	85.9
2	Hong Kong	85.5
3	Japan	84.8
	...
43	Czechia	77.7
44	Croatia	77.6
45	Barbados	77.6
46	USA	77.2
47	Estonia	77.1
48	Costa Rica	77.0
49	Saudi Arabia	76.9
50	Albania	76.5
	World Avg	71.28
q=195.

Regarding its average life expectancy, the USA ranks 46th in the world. It improved by +3.8yrs in the 30 years from 1990, but this was less than the global average of +7.9yrs. This stagnation eventually led to the USA being the only rich country to see a decline in life expectancy₁₁.

Increasing longevity, and subsequent aging, is a long-term trend around the world₂₄. Global life expectancy has risen above the 70s, reaching 72, by 2016₂₅, as part of a global trend towards better health_25,26, and due to huge portions of the world being gradually lifted out of poverty. It also reflects overall improvements to cultural health, including diet, health services systems, attitudes to exercise and well-being, and also family structure and caring. For decades, Japan was well-known for having the highest average life expectancy₂₇, until the top spot was taken by Hong Kong. The regions with the best life expectancy are Europe (78.4), The Middle East (75.2) and Asia (73.2)₁₀ and the worst, by some way, is Africa (62.8)₁₀.

One effect of rising longevity is the 'demographics crisis'; where an increasing portion of the population is old and retired, putting pressure on services and taxes₂₈. The solution is for aging countries to import younger workers from elsewhere; over time, as birth rates stabilize, geriatric care improves the length of the working life, and population growth calms, this situation will stabilize.

For more, see:

• "Life Expectancy and Longevity" by Vexen Crabtree (2020).

Obesity, made deadly by poor health culture and social care in the USA has led to improvements in life expectancy ceasing in 2010, and it is now alone in the rich world for having a declining rate.

By 2008 parts of the USA's population's life expectancy was decreasing due to smoking, obesity and high blood pressure₂₉ and by 2011 the USA was lagging behind other developed countries in terms of improvements in life expectancy. "Researchers at the National Research Council estimated that America's high rates of obesity accounted for between one-fifth and one-third of its lagging life expectancy relative to other rich countries" and there are concerns that obesity alone could rise to such prominence that the USA's average life expectancy become the first in the modern world to begin to drop - although others such as James Vaupel, director of Duke University's Population Research Institute, thinks that rising rates of disability is going to the more worrying result of obesity₃₀.

Averages by decade for the USA (for the ranks, lower is better):

Life Expectancy	1990s  Average	2000s  Average	2010s  Average
the USA:	76.0	77.6	78.9
World Rank:	29th	⇣  36th	⇣  42nd
World Avg:	65.3	68.2	71.4

2.2. Alcohol Consumption

#alcohol #health #sociology

Alcohol Consumption Lower is better17
Pos.		2016 Per Capita17
1	Bangladesh	0.0
2	Kuwait	0.0
3	Libya	0.0
	...
145=	Argentina	9.8
145=	Georgia	9.8
145=	Namibia	9.8
145=	USA	9.8
149	St Lucia	9.9
150=	Swaziland	9.9
151	Spain	10.0
152	S. Korea	10.2
	World Avg	6.2
q=189.

Amongst the worst in The Americas The USA ranks 146th in the world in terms of its alcohol consumption rate.

There is nothing wrong with drinking modest and sensible amounts of alcohol but fitness, physical health, mental health and long-term health all suffer as a result of medium- or heavy- drinking₃₁ and the health risks to the baby when pregnant mothers drink₃₂ are well-known. Aside from the effects on the individual, alcohol misuse impacts on entire economies₃₃ via increased health service costs, policing costs and lost days' work. Worldwide, alcohol misuse is "among the top five risk factors for disease, disability and death" and is a "cause of more than 200 disease and injury conditions in individuals, most notably alcohol dependence, liver cirrhosis, cancers and injuries"₃₄. "In 2012... 5.9% of all global deaths, were attributable to alcohol consumption"₃₅. Deaths from chronic alcohol misuse have been rising for decades, and so has violence, abuse, vandalism and crime all associated with alcohol over-use. The aggression and crime associated with alcohol in some Western countries infringes on the human rights of those who want nothing to do with such behaviour. Many of the social effects of alcohol are psychological and cultural; i.e., people don't have to behave criminally or destructively whilst drunk - it is a culturally learned behaviour. Experiments have shown that behaviour can be controlled: Those who do not wish to behave badly whilst drunk, will not do so.

For more, see:

• "Alcohol: The Social & Medical Effects and How to Combat Misuse" by Vexen Crabtree (2015).

2.3. Fertility Rate

#birth_control #demographics #fertility #health #overpopulation #population #yemen

Fertility Rate 2.0 is best12
Pos.		202212
1	US Virgin Islands	2.00
2	Ecuador	2.00
3	Nepal	2.01
	...
48=	Suriname	2.32
48=	Cambodia	2.32
50	Azerbaijan	1.67
51	USA	1.67
52	Honduras	2.34
53	New Zealand	1.66
54	S. Africa	2.34
55	Turks & Caicos Islands	1.66
	World Avg	2.47
q=208.

In terms of its fertility rate, the USA ranks 51st in the world. Its peak rate was 3.65 in 1960.

The fertility rate is, in simple terms, the average amount of children that each woman has. The higher the figure, the quicker the population will grow, although, to calculate the rate you also need to take into account morbidity - the rate at which people die. If people live healthy and long lives and morbidity is low, then, 2.0 approximates to the replacement rate (two new children for each set of parents who die), which would keep the population stable. If all countries had such a fertility rate, population growth would end. The actual replacement rate in most developed countries is around 2.1. The highest fertility rate ever detected in a single year was in Yemen in 1985, at 8.86.₃₆

For more, see:

• "The Population of the Earth" by Vexen Crabtree (2019).

Averages by decade for the USA (for the ranks, lower is better):

Fertility Rate	1960s  Average	1970s  Average	1980s  Average	1990s  Average	2000s  Average	2010s  Average
the USA:	3.04	1.93	1.86	2.01	2.06	1.83
World Rank:	38th	⇡  9th	⇣  17th	⇡  2nd	⇣  10th	⇣  35th
World Avg:	5.35	4.78	4.22	3.57	3.03	2.73

2.4. Smoking Rates

#cancer #democracy #health #smoking

Smoking Rates Lower is better16
Pos.		201416
1	Guinea	15
2	Solomon Islands	26
3	Kiribati	28
	...
122	Brunei	1 023
123	Algeria	1 024
124	Latvia	1 041
125	USA	1 083
126	Finland	1 083
127	Portugal	1 113
128	Moldova	1 114
129	Lithuania	1 124
	World Avg	819
q=182.

The USA ranks 125th in the world in terms of its smoking rate.

Cigarettes are the most lethal consumer product on the planet and is the biggest preventable course of disease in the world₃₇. A billion people smoke₃₈. The fight for public health means limiting and reducing the business of the tobacco industry and as the governments of most developed countries make headway, the tobacco industry has resisted with misinformation, public-relations campaigns and fake customer-concern lobby groups, trying to make the government think that the citizens do not support its actions. With £30 billion pounds (UKP) profit per year₃₇, the industry runs such massive and influential lobbies that most governments find it difficult to make any progress in curbing rates of smoking.

If you smoke, you are more likely to drink. If you smoke or drink, you are also more likely to do drugs. Smoking is statistically intertwined deeply with trash culture. Only 15% of men in the highest professional classes smoke, but 42% of unskilled workers do₃₉. Smoking is higher amongst those who are already in trouble: single mothers smoke at 55%, most homeless do and practically 100% of drug addicts do₃₉. Smoking during late pregnancy reduces the IQ of babies by an average of 6.2 points₄₀ and causes increased antisocial behaviour. Aside from the financial cost to taxpayers and the health costs to individuals, indirect negative economic effects result from increased rates of disease and sick days lost from work.

For more, see:

• "The Side Effects of Smoking. Which Countries Smoke Most?" by Vexen Crabtree (2014).

2.5. Suicide Rate

#belgium #finland #health #japan #mental_health #suicide #switzerland

Suicide Rate14
Pos.		2013 Per 100k14
1	Haiti	0
2	Grenada	0
3	Egypt	0.1
	...
50	Singapore	20.6
51	India	20.8
52	Trinidad & Tobago	21.7
53	USA	22.2
54	Chile	22.4
55	Canada	22.7
56	Iceland	23.5
57	New Zealand	23.6
	World Avg	20.93
q=91.

The USA comes 54th in the world in terms of its suicide rate.

Suicide as a human behaviour is recorded in the texts of the most ancient civilisations. But reliable statistics on it are hard to collect. The World Health Organisation publishes the statistics used by the United Nations, which is duplicated in the long table on the right.

Almost universally, successful male suicide rates are much higher than female rates. However, female suicide attempts are more frequent than male attempts.

Countries with high suicide rates are a mixture between those riddled with organized criminal gangs, under-developed countries, and, highly developed countries. There are cultural and situational effects at work that persist in the long-term: nothing seems to lower the high suicide rates in Japan, Belgium and Finland. And some of the countries with the lowest rates are not particularly well developed socially. It seems there is no correlation between suicide rates and things like development, prosperity and national engagement in human rights.

Switzerland comes in as the country with the 17th highest suicide rate despite its liberal stance, with 36.2 suicides per 100,000 people.

For more, see:

• "Accepting Assisted Suicide: A Focus on UK Law" by Vexen Crabtree (2012).

2.6. Food Aid, Health Contributions & WHO Compliance

Food Aid, Health Contributions & WHO Compliance Lower is better9
Pos.		2017 Rank9
1	Sweden	1
2	Ireland	2
3	Denmark	3
	...
7	Germany	7
8	Canada	8
9	Netherlands	9
10	USA	10
11	Luxembourg	11
12	Finland	12
13	Australia	13
14	UAE	14
	World Avg	82.0
q=163.

Amongst the lowest in The Americas regarding its food aid and health contributions and WHO compliance, the USA comes 10th-best in the world.

2.7. Overweight Adults

#health #obesity

Overweight Adults Lower is better18
Pos.		1976 %18
1	Bangladesh	4.7
2	Vietnam	5.1
3	Nepal	5.4
	...
160=	Lebanon	41.2
160=	Greece	41.2
162	Bulgaria	41.4
163=	USA	41.6
163=	Spain	41.6
165	Ukraine	42.2
166	Australia	42.4
167	Lithuania	42.6
	World Avg	27.1
q=191.

The USA ranks 163rd in the world with regard to the prevalence of overweight adults (one of the worst in The Americas).

2.8. Adult Obesity

#genetics #health #obesity #physical_fitness #public_health

Adult Obesity Lower is better41
Pos.		2022 %41
1	Vietnam	2.1%
2	Timor-Leste (E. Timor)	2.2%
3	Ethiopia	2.4%
	...
179	Saudi Arabia	41.1%
180	Belize	41.9%
181	Palau	42.2%
182	USA	42.9%
183	Egypt	43.0%
184	Qatar	43.8%
185	Kuwait	45.4%
186	Micronesia	45.6%
	World Avg	24.7%
q=199.

The USA comes 18th-worst in the world regarding obesity rate (one of the worst in The Americas). Obesity, high blood pressure and poor lifestyles have damaged the USA's life expectancy₂₉ and by 2011 the USA. Its National Research Council estimated that "high rates of obesity accounted for between one-fifth and one-third of its lagging life expectancy relative to other rich countries"₃₀.

About one third of the global population is overweight or obese₄₂. It's more serious than simply being overweight and causes a range of systemic health conditions including the development of Type 2 diabetes_43,44, muscle and bone degradation including osteoarthritis₄₃, cardiovascular disease (i.e. heart disease, which causes 40% of all US deaths₁₉)₄₃, substantial disability₄₃, cancers (endometrial, breast and colon)₄₃, the acceleration of the ageing process₄₅ and decreased life expectancy_43,45. Health systems have to routinely cope with resultant complications, and cultural changes are having to be made₄₆, impacting on transport, resources and workplaces, with measurable effects on national economies, diverting time and resources away from other issues. In 2000, it was the world's most costly epidemic₄₆, and has continued to get worse in every region of the world every decade since₄₇.

The causes are lifestyle and culture_48,43, not genetics_49,50. Causes are processed foods, low levels of physical exercise, over-indulgence, poor choices in food products and poor knowledge of nutrition. Health experts have warned that there is no medical solution: prevention is the only possible route to reduce the cost of obesity₅₁ but the situation is made much worse by well-funded advertising campaigns by food manufacturers selling cheap mass-produced food. Even many so-called "health foods" contain well over recommended limits of fat, salt and sugar₅₂ and a range of popular fad diets capitalize on miseducated consumers to buy into costly and nonsensical schemes that falsely promise quick results₅₃.

For more, see:

• " The Modern Obesity Epidemic" by Vexen Crabtree (2025).

The USA's obesity pandemic has spanned a few generations.

It causes layers of complications and personal difficulties. "Annual health care costs are 35 percent higher for obese individuals relative to normal weight individuals. Each year, approximately 300,000 deaths are attributed to obesity" (from 2007)₁₉ and "if population-wide cholesterol levels could be reduced by 10 percent, the incidence of coronary artery disease could drop by an estimated 30 percent"₁₉.

Averages by decade for the USA (for the ranks, lower is better):

Adult Obesity	1990s  Average	2000s  Average	2010s  Average
the USA:	22.6%	32.1%	38.9%
World Rank:	184th	⇡  183rd	183rd
World Avg:	12.5%	16.7%	21.0%

3. Children's Health Datasets

3.1. Adolescent Birth Rate

#health #parenting #population

Adolescent Birth Rate Lower is better13
Pos.		2022 Per 100013
1	Hong Kong	1.6
2	Denmark	1.8
3	S. Korea	2.1
	...
57	Serbia	14.4
58	Albania	14.5
59	Russia	14.5
60	USA	15.1
61	Ukraine	15.2
62	Sri Lanka	15.4
63	Turkey	15.7
64	Uzbekistan	15.7
	World Avg	43.8
q=195.

The USA comes 60th in the world regarding its adolescent birth rate (amongst the lowest in The Americas).

Averages by decade for the USA (for the ranks, lower is better):

Adolescent Birth Rate	1990s  Average	2000s  Average	2010s  Average
the USA:	54.9	40.9	23.9
World Rank:	87th	87th	⇡  66th
World Avg:	71.0	59.4	51.4

3.2. Infant Immunizations 2011-2015

#alternative_medicine #health #pseudoscience #vaccines

Infant Immunizations 2011-2015 Higher is better15
Pos.		2015 Avg %15
1=	Hungary	99.0
1=	China	99.0
3	Uzbekistan	98.9
	...
95	Georgia	93.1
96	New Zealand	92.9
97	Nauru	92.9
98	USA	92.8
99	Latvia	92.8
100	Romania	92.7
101	France	92.6
102=	El Salvador	92.4
	World Avg	88.3
q=194.

The USA comes 98th in the world regarding its immunizations take-up.