amazing facts

amazing facts

A four-hour documentary
series exploring our
socio-economic and
racial inequities in health
Airing four consecutive
Thursdays, March 27
to April 17, 2008

Amazing Facts

(check local listings)

AMAZING FACTS ABOUT HEALTH
DOLLARS & SENSE
✔ U.S. businesses lose more than $1 trillion a year in productivity due to chronic illness.
✔ Per person, the U.S. spends more than twice the average of other industrialized

countries on health care - 16% of our GDP in 2006 - yet has some of the worst health
outcomes: worse than 28 other countries in life expectancy (including Jordan) and 29
other countries in infant mortality (including Slovenia).

✔ The U.S. child poverty rate (21.9%) is five times that of Sweden (4.2%). It’s not

surprising that, when it comes to social spending, the figures are reversed: Sweden
allocates 18% of its GDP to social spending while the U.S. allocates only 4%.

IN SICKNESS AND IN WEALTH
✔ People in the highest income group can expect to live, on average, at least six and a

half years longer than those in the lowest. Even those in the middle (families of four
making $41,300 to $82,600 a year in 2007) will die, on average, two years sooner
than those at the top.

✔ Low-income adults are 50% more likely to suffer heart disease than top earners.
Those second from the top are almost 20% more likely than those at the top.

✔ College graduates can expect to live at least five years longer than those who have
not finished high school, and almost two years longer than those who didn’t finish
college.

✔ Children living in poverty are about seven times as likely to be in poor or fair health
than children living in high-income households. Middle class children are twice as
likely to be in poor or fair health than those at the top.

(continued on page 2)

unnaturalcauses.org

Produced by California Newsreel with Vital Pictures • Presented by the National Minority Consortia of public television

Amazing Facts...

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