Health vs Hype: Media Sensationalism vs Reality
Author: Oksana Aron, MD Source: Weight Loss NYC Jan 27, 2024Health vs Hype
Media sensationalism
presents a very distorted view on causes of death for Americans than what actual causes occur. Our World in Data
presented these figures quite significantly in the following chart. Heart Disease and Cancer are the actual causes of 60% of Americans, yet media have been shown to present instead violent causes to be 70%.
The best news from this however, is the results are far more in your own hands — You have much more control over your own health and wellness than media scare tactics distracting you from medical realities.
The first column represents each cause’s share of US deaths … the discrepancy between what we actually die from and what we get informed of in the media is what stands out:
Around one-third of the considered causes of deaths resulted from heart disease, yet this cause of death receives only 2-3 percent of Google searches and media coverage; just under one-third of the deaths came from cancer; we actually Google cancer a lot (37 percent of searches) … but it receives only 13-14 percent of media coverage; … the largest discrepancies concern violent forms of death … receive much more relative attention in Google searches and media coverage than their relative share of deaths. When it comes to the media coverage on causes of death, violent deaths account for more than two-thirds of coverage … but account for less than 3 percent of the total deaths in the US.
Your Medical Health Matters
The facts are facts, your personal health is a far more significant factor in yielding longer life than what popular media attempts to portray. Overweight and obesity-related conditions play a far more significant share of your health risk than other causes combined.
Visit Dr Oksana Aron Medical Weight Loss Center at WeightLossNYC.com to learn more about how her medical weight loss program may help you.
Sources: Our World in Data, Wikimedia, WikipediaLabels: cardiovascular health, death, health, medical, obesity, overweight