New data from Germany and Great Britain show that despite all efforts, health – from obesity to cancer mortality – remains dependent on social status.
The development of the welfare state should also eliminate discrimination in matters of health. But despite all her efforts, she is apparently still dependent on education and money. This is proven by new cross-generational data on obesity from Germany and cancer mortality in Great Britain. There, cancer mortality differs dramatically between rich and poor.
Social background can have an influence over decades and generations. Just a few weeks ago, the German Federal Institute for Population Research (BiB) published a new study. The analyzes show a massive influence of parents’ educational status on their children’s weight development into adulthood.
“Almost half of those surveyed between the ages of 18 and 50 whose parents do not have a high school diploma have a body mass index of over 25 and are therefore considered overweight. “For people whose parents both have a high school diploma, the proportion of overweight people is only just under a third,” the institute said.
According to the German experts, there are also large differences in self-assessment of their state of health: “At the same time, people from an educated home feel healthier: 77 percent rate their own state of health as good or very good, compared to 66 percent for children of parents without a high school diploma fewer.”
Level of education also determines the social environment
Several factors are believed to be responsible for these health disparities. First of all, children from more educated families often achieve better educational results and higher incomes in less physically demanding jobs, which can already contribute to better health. In addition, the social environment in which children grow up and are influenced by health-related lifestyles also differs depending on the level of education of the parents. The experts explained that better eating and exercise habits, which are developed in the family and the environment, could have a positive effect well into adulthood.
In any case, social background can literally have its effects for life – until death. Mara Barschkett, co-author of the analysis by the German state demography researchers: “In the long term, the poorer health condition (of people from socially disadvantaged parents; note) will be expressed in a lower life expectancy.”
Two weeks ago, Lancet Oncology published a study with very similar results, but on cancer mortality by regional income differences in Great Britain. In Great Britain, the national health service (National Health Service; NHS), established in the period after the Second World War, was highly regarded for decades and was intended to ensure equal access to medical care and equal opportunities for everyone. This has apparently not resulted in a similar status across all British regions when it comes to cancer.
Cancer mortality down but ‘staggering inequality’
“Although our research includes the good news that cancer mortality has fallen across all UK counties over the past 20 years, it still highlights the staggering disparity in cancer mortality by place of residence,” said Majid Ezzati from Imperial College in London for his study.
In Great Britain, cancer is the leading cause of death and has now overtaken cardiovascular disease. The scientists analyzed the death statistics for the years 2002 to 2019 according to the ten types of cancer with the most deaths in men and women. This was done for all 314 districts in the country.
Clearly: People in the lowest-income regions of Great Britain in and around Liverpool, Manchester, Hull/Newcastle and east of London had the highest cancer death risk in 2019. “The risk of dying from cancer under the age of 80 was one in ten women in Westminster and one in six women in Manchester,” wrote Lancet Oncology.
Among men under 80, one in eight died in Harrow (city in north-west London; note) and one in five in Manchester in 2019, according to the study results. “The risk of cancer death was associated with poverty in both sexes. The greatest inequality across regions was observed in cancers with risk factors such as smoking, alcohol or obesity. They could be prevented or detected early through screening programs,” noted the globally respected medical journal. (APA/DPA)
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2023-12-23 12:25:19
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