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The Gap Between Rich and Poor Americans' Health Is Widening

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Re: The Gap Between Rich and Poor Americans' Health Is Widening

#51

Post by anonuser123456 »

ZeroGravitas wrote: post #20
anonuser123456 wrote: post #9

Unpopular hypothesis: Executive function is causally correlated with health and wealth.

Ironically something negatively affected by lead exposure, yet the comment you reply to seems to be judging people in poor area's decisions as being a factor in theit health outcomes while at the same time minimising lead poisoning's impact.

I don't blame poor people for their plight. I didn't bootstrap myself to high executive function, the universe just gave it to me. Those affected by environmental lead are no more in charge.

But we have to get to the root cause of inequality to begin talking about a solution.

Most people have poor health because they make poor decisions. So either we disallow them agency and act as their perpetual nanny, or accept the world isn't perfect and that distributions will be unequal.

Throwing money at the problem won't help. You can spend unlimited healthcare dollars for no measurable benefit.

Re: The Gap Between Rich and Poor Americans' Health Is Widening

#52

Post by dakna »

wang_li wrote: post #42
dakna wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lack of knowledge is one prt, but also convenience plays a big role. Cooking is considered a household chore, and life should be easy. The neighborhood store doesn't offer raw ingredients to cook, and you need weekly planning to stock up on this when you drive to the big store outside of town. You get everything processed and sugared up right around the corner every day.

> convenience plays a big role No government regulation should be imposed on the country as a whole so that some people can find things more convenient. If people can't be bothered to put some effort into being healthy, I'm not sure why I should care if the "gap between rich and poor American's health is widening" or not. Edited to remove judgement.

I'm not aware of any government regulation to enforce convenience. If given a choice, most people will choose instant convenience if they are not aware of the long term effects of this decision. Hence the lack of education part.

Re: The Gap Between Rich and Poor Americans' Health Is Widening

#53

Post by johnsimer »

5trokerac3 wrote: post #24
hanniabu wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unhealthy foods are cheaper than healthy foods, partially due to sugar subsidies. This is what happens when corporations run the government. They lobby for things that are beneficial to their bottom line rather than what's better for the well being of the population.

Processed unhealthy foods are cheaper than processed healthy(er) foods. Beans and grains are cheap. Staple fruits and vegetables are cheap. Chicken is cheap (especially dark meat). Eggs are cheap. You can feed a family of 4 a very healthy diet for ~$100 a month if you're willing to put in the work sourcing and cooking. That's the crux of the issue, though. Food deserts combined with a lack of nutritional and culinary…

> Beans and grains are cheap.

Side note: grains are not a healthy food.

Re: The Gap Between Rich and Poor Americans' Health Is Widening

#54

Post by dang »

wang_li wrote: post #42
dakna wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lack of knowledge is one prt, but also convenience plays a big role. Cooking is considered a household chore, and life should be easy. The neighborhood store doesn't offer raw ingredients to cook, and you need weekly planning to stock up on this when you drive to the big store outside of town. You get everything processed and sugared up right around the corner every day.

> convenience plays a big role No government regulation should be imposed on the country as a whole so that some people can find things more convenient. If people can't be bothered to put some effort into being healthy, I'm not sure why I should care if the "gap between rich and poor American's health is widening" or not. Edited to remove judgement.

When disagreeing, please reply to the argument instead of calling names. "That is idiotic; 1 + 1 is 2, not 3" can be shortened to "1 + 1 is 2, not 3."

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

Re: The Gap Between Rich and Poor Americans' Health Is Widening

#55

Post by dang »

kevinlou wrote: post #50
wang_li wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> convenience plays a big role No government regulation should be imposed on the country as a whole so that some people can find things more convenient. If people can't be bothered to put some effort into being healthy, I'm not sure why I should care if the "gap between rich and poor American's health is widening" or not. Edited to remove judgement.

Yeah this is the wrong take, buddy.

Maybe so, but please don't post unsubstantive comments to HN.

Re: The Gap Between Rich and Poor Americans' Health Is Widening

#56

Post by save_ferris »

invalidOrTaken wrote: post #48
save_ferris wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Statistically speaking, white men are far and away the highest income earners in America. They are literally the most privileged group. Until 2008, 44 of 44 of US presidents were white men. White men dominate the Fortune 500, Wall Street, and leadership in the government. The paper also explicitly defined health justice as "a measure of the correlation of health outcomes with income, race/ethnicity and sex; and a sum…

Who are the highest income spenders ? I'm reminded of the Seinfeld reservation bit ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T2GmGSNvaM ).

I don't quite understand your point or its connection here. What are you arguing?

Re: The Gap Between Rich and Poor Americans' Health Is Widening

#57

Post by anonuser123456 »

jhayward wrote: post #36
anonuser123456 wrote: post #9

Unpopular hypothesis: Executive function is causally correlated with health and wealth.

This isn't an actual contribution, it's trolling. Future executive function is highly correlated with high socio-economic status of childhood.

Since it is also herritable, why would that be surprising?

Re: The Gap Between Rich and Poor Americans' Health Is Widening

#58

Post by dakna »

I would like to encourage people to join a local community garden program and also let others know this option might exist in their hometown. I found it to be an invaluable way to grow healthy food and meet people from all walks of life. We grow veggies in our backyard too, but the public gardens are where you actually meet nice people outside of your economic class, which is far more rewarding on a personal level to me than driving around in an expensive car to an expensive mall to buy expensive stuff.

Re: The Gap Between Rich and Poor Americans' Health Is Widening

#59

Post by dsfyu404ed »

JMTQp8lwXL wrote: post #35
ndiscussion wrote: post #2

Being healthy is cheap as can be, but the gap is indeed increasing. One need only spend 10 minutes at their favorite discount grocer checkout line to see why. I'm not sure what the answer is, but it's very sad. Why are we destroying our bodies? edit: this quote is getting at it, but seems to ignore the real problem. > Research shows that health care accounts for only 10% to 20% of overall health outcomes > when patie…

It's "cheap" if your labor is valued. I imagine the relationship between health consequences and income could somewhat be related to having multiple jobs, long hours, and being too tired to prioritize health after a long day. That fast food looks quick, convenient and affordable when you're going from one job to another and don't have much time or the additional money to spend on healthier fast casual eating options.…

Most poor people eat out with a fraction of the frequency of richer people. Its finding the time and motivation to burn the calories you consume that's the hard part.

Re: The Gap Between Rich and Poor Americans' Health Is Widening

#60

Post by SketchySeaBeast »

anonuser123456 wrote: post #22
Nasrudith wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Newsflash - type 2 diabetes can also affect those who are and always were of healthy weight and diet. You can't just make health problems insignificant blaming.

The vast majority of type two diabetes is preventable. That which is not is likely misdiagnosed late onset type 1.

Do you have any sources for that? They are two separate conditions, with two separate causes and severities.
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