23.08.12
Poor five times more likely to live unhealthily – The King’s Fund
The proportion of people living unhealthy lifestyles has dropped significantly, but the improvement has not been among poorer people in more deprived areas – further exacerbating health inequalities.
New research shows that the numbers of people engaging in multiple unhealthy lifestyle behaviours – smoking, excessive drinking, poor diet and a lack of exercise – has fallen since 2003, especially among the richer and well-educated.
The King’s Fund conducted a study to examine the patterns of these behaviours changing over time, based on data from the Health Survey for England between 2003 and 2008.
The proportion of the population engaging in three or four of the identified behaviours fell by 8%, from 33% to 25%. This indicates public health initiatives are having on overall effect on the population.
But the proportion of manual workers and people without qualifications engaging in all four behaviours remains unchanged, widening the gap between the socio-economic groups. Those without any qualifications are now five times more likely to engage in all four behaviours, compared to three times in 2003.
The King’s Fund suggests that previous public health initiatives have placed too much focus on tackling individual behaviours, rather than multiple unhealthy behaviours, and that more needs to be done for the poorer socio-economic groups.
David Buck, senior fellow at The King’s Fund and the lead author of the report said:
“Our research highlights an unsung public health success – a reduction in multiple unhealthy lifestyle behaviours among the general population. However, the lack of progress among lower socio-economic and educational groups is worrying and has exacerbated health inequalities.
“If the Government is serious about improving the health of the poorest fastest, it must focus on reducing multiple unhealthy risky behaviours among the poorest groups, rather than only relying on focused on single behaviours.”
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