The American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) defines
infertility as the failure to achieve a successful pregnancy after 12 months or more of regular unprotected intercourse. Earlier evaluation and treatment may be justified based on medical history and physical findings and is warranted after 6 months for women over age 35 years. In the United States one in six couples are
infertile. In large urban areas where women often delay childbearing for sake of their career, the proportion can be as high as one in five. This high incidence is confirmed by the oft-quoted statistic that in the United States over 3 million women a year visit a physician because of difficulty in conceiving. To put things in perspective however,
male factor infertility is the sole cause…
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More than 60% of adult Americans are
overweight and a staggering 33.3% of adult men and 35.3% of women are
obese. Even more disturbing 12.4% of
children 2-5 years, 17% % of those aged 6-11, and 17.4% of adolescents aged 12 to 19 years are obese. The Center for Disease Control
(CDC) defines overweight in adults as a Body Mass Index (
BMI) between 25 and 29.9 and obesity as a BMI 30 or higher. BMI is calculated dividing a persons weight in kilograms by their height in meters squared. To make the calculation simple the Department of Health and Human Services and others provide a simple
calculator based on height in feet and inches and weight in pounds on their websites. For
children
The only thing missing from current
Health Care Reform proposals is a plan to actually provide, health care. Insurance schemes both public and private, electronic medical records and legal reforms may make health care more affordable and administratively efficient but they don't answer the real question; will Americans actually receive better health care, or in many cases any health care at all?
What should be obvious, seems lost in the political rhetoric, we don't have the physicians, nurses and other health care professionals to actually provide quality universal health care despite the fact that we spend more, per capita on health care than any other country in the world. In the U.S. we spend approximately $6,000 per capita as compared to about $3,500 countries with universal
national health care
