[throwayit]

I am going to focus on US centric problems. Here are the two areas I think Americans could use the biggest help:

1) Personal finance - Americans across the board lack basic financial competency. This effects the US across the board, people take on too much credit card debt, school debt, etc. This problem is across all classes (lower, middle, upper) - Americans do not understand basic things on how to budget, how much debt they can take on, how credit cards should work, how to invest, etc. We need financial education happening at the high school level so that the next generation of Americans don't make the same financial mistakes we have (taking on too much school debt, using credit card as loans, not taking advantage of employer 401k, buying houses you can afford, etc)

2) Diet / Eating - If you look at the list of the most common sources of death for Americans, almost every issue is linked to lifestyle (diet, smoking, alcohol, etc.). Our diets have spun out of control; Americans lack basic knowledge on what is healthy or not. I've had many friends who struggle with weight issues who lack even basic knowledge of how calories work, what their daily needs, what are necessary nutrients, etc.)

[marak830]

Wouldn't that come under education though?(Australians have the same problem).

I didn't realise how bad it was in Aus until I moved to Japan.

Edit: I was referring to your first point, sorry.

[fluffybunnyfeet]

Ideally, I agree it should be taught in school. But frankly, our education system is so screwed on even teaching basics, I don't think it could handle something as critical as this.

What about something that would get both parents and their kids involved? This is a multigenerational problem and it might help to get everyone involved on both points.