According to the WHO Country Profile
for the United State, not only does the United States score highly on most
measures of health, the US performs better on health measures than other
countries in the region. There is one
exception: obesity rates for both men and women are higher in the US, than for
the WHO region. According to the WHO, 87
percent of deaths in the US are from non-communicable diseases, which can be
attributed to a variety of behaviors, including smoking (16%) and physical
inactivity (43%); since 1980, “body mass index has increased; and glucose
levels have risen” (WHO, 2011). Many public
health officials have argued that the fix to these problems lies not in blaming
the individual, but by promoting access to healthy foods and by redesigning
communities to encourage active, healthy life styles (Dannenberg, Frumkin, and
Jackson, 2012).
Dannenberg, A. L., Frumkin, H., and Jackson, R.J., 2012. Making
Healthy Places: Designing and Building for Health, Well-being, and
Sustainability. Washington, DC: Island
Press.
WHO, 2011. “WHO maps
noncommunicable disease trends in all countries.” News Release.
14 September. URL: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2011/NCDs_profiles_20110914/en/
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