Wealthy And Healthy

We have always suspected that the wealthy had better health lives than those less wealthy ....

 

The Three Stooges Wouldn't Have Lived Long Lives .....

.... and of course there are lots of studies that show that poorer areas have shorter lives than rich areas. 

 

Of course there have been plenty of studies that have illustrated this, and indeed the recent Covid pandemic has shown once again that poorer areas have fared worst in outcomes. 

 

Now there are other reasons than just money that impact these health outcomes:

• Education - poorer areas are populated with people with lower educations. These people with poor education are often less well informed as they don't read, or rather will read facebook posts from some sources, and not official advice on health matters e.g. Anti-Vaxxers.
• Earnings - people who are less well educated will very often only be able to get low paying jobs and thus keep wealth levels lower.
• Underlying health - poorer areas often house people with pre-existing serious health issues such as the disabled, heavy smokers, and drug users.
• Diet - poorer areas often have more fast food outlets per head of population then more expensive areas. This leads to more people overweight and also with diabetes.

An individual living in a poorer area can overcome these factors e.g. not smoking, restricted or no alcohol, not taking drugs and following exercise and dietary regimes. 

 

But, nonetheless there is no doubt that the lack of wealth, combined with the other factors already listed, has health impacts for large numbers of people. A recent study has quantified wealth and health impact, as being for every £36,300 accumulated by middle age (50?) mortality in the next 24 years (50 - 74) falls by five per cent.

 

So the wealthy really are the healthy ones ....