Medical dark matter: Living conditions determine health
Although doctors can save some sick people, they have no power to make most people live longer. Despite over $2 trillion a year of modern medical care, US life expectancy has dropped to 50th in the world (CIA 2009) behind all of Europe and behind some very poor countries. It seems to me that societal factors account for about 85% of differences in life expectancy, with genetics and individual health care accounting for the remainder. … Our American lifestyle takes years off our lives and cannot be sustained indefinitely by available energy resources.
February 7, 2010