One way to address this critique is to look at the relative difference between the two countries across time. If this averred genetic difference really does exist, then one would expect the margin of difference to be pretty consistent across time.
So with that in mind, let's look at the UNESCO data via the very cool gapminder tool
I will present 2 graphs: the historical US-Canadian difference in infant mortality rate and the historical US-Canadian differences in life-expectancy. Since they tell the exact same story, I shall present them together (click here and here for graph)
In the first case, average life expectancy between the US and Canada was about the same up to 1968, after which it pulled ahead in Canada. The second case offers a even more dramatic trend- infant mortality was actually worse in Canada before 1958, at point the two rate equalize, and then thereafter Canada has had consistently better infant mortality rates than the US, right up to today.
What accounted for the difference? It seems to me that the institution of universal healthcare in Canada in 1948 played a major role in the improvement of Canadian health vis-a-vis the US.
An additional rejoinder this kind of times-series analysis accounts for is the claim that since different countries measure these metrics slightly differently, you're not measuring apples-to-apples. That may be the case, but it does not account for why Canada improved relative to the US.
2 comments:
I couldn't really see your graphs, but read what you said. There are so many other factors though that I don't know if you can necessarily come with your conclusions. I'm not sure about Canada because I don't live there, but the US eats a lot more processed foods, eats out, and makes their own dinners every night a lot less than they used to. That alone can contribute to obesity levels. They watch a lot more tv, surf the internet, play video games and just exercise a whole lot less as well. Is that the case in Canada? Maybe, maybe not. I'm not saying what you said is wrong, but, like I said, there are tons and tons of reasons out there that can contribute or explain this.
I completely agree that there could be other factors accounting for this. The reason why I think that universal healthcare is a good candidate as an explanation is that Canada had higher infant mortality than the US before mandated healthcare and lower infant mortality rate after. In terms of lifestyles, that might affect life expectancy, but infants mortality should not be as affected by lifestyles.
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