Question:
How does the culture and language of a nation contribute to the health and well being of the people of that nation?
"Timro naam ke ho?"
"Mero naam Ameera ho."
Answer:
From this study:
“The Japanese, in comparison with other racial groups in the United States, have low mortality rates: one-third the rates for whites of both genders. Japanese culture seems to afford a protective influence that results in lower mortality, especially from chronic diseases such as Chronic Heart Disease (CHD) and cancer. The orientation of the Japanese culture even in our age of industrialization is toward conformity and group consensus rather than toward the “rugged individualism” and competitiveness that pervade the American culture. Degree of acculturation to Japan was related to low rates of CHD mortality. Acculturation is defined as modifications that individuals or groups undergo when they come into contact with another culture.
According to Marmot, “Among industrialized countries, Japan is remarkable for its low rate of ischemic heart disease. It is unlikely to be the result of some genetically-determined protection, as Japanese migrants to the USA lose this apparent protection.” The Honolulu Heart Study prospectively followed a large population of men of Japanese ancestry who resided on the island of Oahu at the beginning of the study. Various measures of the degree of early exposure to Japanese culture were collected, including: birth-place in Japan; total number of years of residence in that country; ability to read, write and speak Japanese; and a preference for the Japanese diet. After adjusting for the influence of well-established risk factors for CHD (age, serum cholesterol, systolic blood pressure, and cigarette smoking), there was a gradient in incidence of CHD across variables related to identification with the Japanese culture. For example, men who could read and write Japanese well had an incidence rate about half that reported for those who could neither read nor write Japanese. Other studies of Japanese men living in Japan, Hawaii, and California have shown an increasing gradient in mortality, prevalence, and incidence of CHD from Japan to Hawaii to California. Observed lower rates of CHD in Japan in comparison with the United States have been attributed to a low-fat diet among the Japanese and to institutionalized stress-reducing strategies (e.g., community bonds and group cohesion) within Japanese society.
Studies of acculturation among the Japanese provides influence evidence that environmental and behavioral factors influence chronic disease rates and provide a rationale for intervention and prevention of chronic disease. The Japanese who migrated shared a common ethnic background. After migrating to diverse geographic and cultural locales, they experienced a shift in rates of chronic disease to rates more similar to those found in the host countries. This finding among the Japanese is consonant with the acculturation hypothesis, which proposes that as immigrants become acculturated to a host country, their health profiles tend to converge with that of the native-born population.
In the case of the United States, the originating culture of migrants sometimes affords protection against morbidity and mortality. This protective effect may be a function of health-related behaviors associated with a culture. During the late 20th century, foreign-born persons lived about two to four years longer than the native-born U.S population; however, the risk of disability and chronic conditions grew as immigrants lived in the United States for longer periods of time.”
The above is quoted from pg 163-164 of this book.
