Does Inequality Causes Sickness?

According to statistics made by the National Longitudinal Mortality Survey, those who earn less have a lower life expectancy than those who earn more. This simply means that rich and educated people get to live longer than their poorer counterparts. Sadly, the adage that says ” Health is Wealth.. ” seems to lack one essential factor: Money. The fact that a person’s socio-economic status can have a major effect in one’s access to the best health care facilities and services in town – spells the difference between living healthy and barely living.

Inequality in many societies have been seen to have a huge effect in public health, more fatal than free radicals or toxins found outside and inside your body. The fact that a person may be denied access to proper health care due to his or her income conditions is already a health hazard which makes a fatal blow to those who don’t even have any health insurance to start with. On a global scale, you can clearly see the effects of inequalities in health conditions around the world. Nations in third world countries often suffer the most lethal blow, while they try to hope for a miracle as they await treatment that will never come. For this, we see many children die of malnutrition and many other inequality-related sicknesses in poorer countries.

These socio-economic inequalities can be summed up as:

1. Inequalities in job, income, or education
2. Health problems caused by lack of education
3. Unhealthy living conditions due to poor economic conditions
4. Inability to access the best medical care facilities and services due to lack of financial capabilities

If you think that inequality is not affecting anyone’s health, you only have to watch the world news to see for yourself. When money is in the core of getting the best things in life, there is no such thing as health being a wealth. Lucky are those who have the means to get the health care they need, whenever or wherever they need it. For the rest, they will just have to believe in the divine power of self-healing and other placebo means to live the life of their dreams.

Here are Areas Where Inequality Truly Poses as a Health Risk to People:

1. Those who do self-healing without the proper education has worse health conditions than their educated counterparts.
2. Alcohol-related sickness are higher in lower income households.
3. Preventable diseases poses great health risks in lower income families since they have very little means in getting proper health care.
4. Studies show that those who are in the lower income bracket are more susceptible to cardio-respiratory diseases, chronic illnesses, and certain types of cancer.
5. People with lower education have high risks of Diabetes than their highly educated counterparts.
6. Obesity rates are higher in lower socio-economic groups.
7. Those living in a lower income bracket are more prone to sedentary lifestyles and unhealthy living habits.
8. Smoking is more prevalent in lower socio-economic groups than their higher earning counterpart.

Health care should be a means to an end, and not the other way around. The ugly truth of societies’ inequalities have prevented many from choosing the treatment they truly deserve. Although many have relied on natural, safe, and proven ways of staying healthier for life, we can only hope that one day soon, everyone will have the right to live a healthier life… and a life lived to the Max. If you would like to make a difference for many children around the world, you may give your support to many programs on the web like the UNICEF. Help Make a Difference, one step at a time, to make the world a place of equality!

UNNATURAL CAUSES: Is Inequality Making Us Sick?