UNNATURAL CAUSES

A statement from the Executive Producer

LARRY ADELMAN
Series Executive Producer & Co-Director of California Newsreel

It often appears that we Americans are obsessed with health. Media outlets trumpet the latest gene and drug discoveries, dietary supplements line shelf after shelf in the supermarket and a multi-billion dollar industry of magazines, videos and spas sells healthy "lifestyles." We spend more than twice what the average rich country spends per person on medical care.

Yet we have among the worst disease outcomes of any industrialized nation - and the greatest health inequities. It's not just the poor who are sick. Even the middle classes die, on average, almost three years sooner than the rich./.../

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/16/BUBP15B33C.DTL