Universal Health Care blog #6

Universal Health Care blog #6

Prompt: What can we learn from the Italians in terms of health?

            “Be in love with your life, every minute of it.” Health in Italy is much different than the health in America. In America, more than 2 out of 3 adults are considered to be overweight or obese and about one third of children from 6-19 are considered obese. Being in Italy for seven weeks I can only count on one hand the amount of Italians that I have seen that are overweight, and even then they have not been obese. It is hard to believe this considering the amount of food that Italians eat, and the amount of carbohydrates that they take in! I know that I eat a lot more here than I do back home, but I also walk everywhere just like the Italians do. I also believe that we can learn a lot from the universal health care system in Italy. The universal health care system is highly liked by most Italians, and there is much to be learned from their system.

            It is not very common for Italians that live in Rome to own a car, they walk everywhere, not to mention at a very fast pace. I cannot even imagine walking everywhere at home. Italians leave hours early for their jobs or school in order to walk to their work area. Americans usually roll out of bed close to the time they work or have class and start up the car just in time to show up at their destination with a minute to spare. I don’t see Americans changing our ways and walking everywhere, but I do think it is interesting to look at the facts that make Italians have the health they do and then try to apply this to our lives as best as possible. On average we walk about 5 miles a day here, and eat so much more. Most of us maintained our weight, or even lost weight. If we would have eaten like this in America there is no doubt that we would have gained a lot of weight. Another large difference when it comes to food and exercise here in Italy is the slow food movement. In America, fast food is quick and the easiest. The Italians love having slow food, such as sitting down to dinner for three hours and enjoying a three course meal while conversing. This is better for their digestive system, and it is better quality food than our fast food in America.

            According to Barzini, Italy is hard to live in due to nothing ever quite going their way. I believe that the Italians do a great job of doing the most with what they have. Barzini quotes, “A few individuals manage to prosper in a decaying world.” I think that the universal health care system that has been applied in Italy is one of these factors that pull them out of the dark. If there was not universal health care here, I believe there would be even more people on the streets asking for money and searching for food. As said in our Universal Health Care book, individuals that have universal health care tend to get their health issues and problems checked out earlier, which would prevent long term health issues costing the government even more money. Some may disagree with this, but I believe that it is a valid statement being made. America can learn a lot from the Italian universal health care system, and the Italian health over all.

            Its funny, one of the things that I am ready to get back home to is exercising. Yes, I could do it here if I really needed to but we are so busy, and there is so much we needed to get done in these 8 weeks. I have learned a lot from the Italians, and I couldn’t be more thankful for my time spent here. “Learn to travel. Travel to learn.”