The Health Gap - Michael Marmot

'Splendid and necessary' - Henry Marsh author of Do No Harm New Statesman There are dramatic differences in health between countries and within countries. But this is not a simple matter of rich and poor. A poor man in Glasgow is rich compared to the average Indian but the Glaswegian's life expectancy is 8 years shorter. The Indian is dying of infectious disease linked to his poverty; the Glaswegian of violent death suicide heart disease linked to a rich country's version of disadvantage. In all countries people at relative social disadvantage suffer health disadvantage dramatically so. Within countries the higher the social status of individuals the better is their health. These health inequalities defy usual explanations. Conventional approaches to improving health have emphasised access to technical solutions - improved medical care sanitation and control of disease vectors; or behaviours - smoking drinking - obesity linked to diabetes heart disease and cancer. These approaches only go so far. Creating the conditions for people to lead flourishing lives and thus empowering individuals and communities is key to reduction of health inequalities. In addition to the scale of material success your position in the social hierarchy also directly affects your health the higher you are on the social scale the longer you will live and the better your health will be. As people change rank so their health risk changes. What makes these health inequalities unjust is that evidence from round the world shows we know what to do to make them smaller. This new evidence is compelling. It has the potential to change radically the way we think about health and indeed society.

TITLE: The Health Gap

AUTHOR: Michael Marmot

SKU: 9781408858004

PUBLISHER: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

DATE PUBLISHED: 10/09/2015

PLACE PUBLISHED: United Kingdom

PAGES: 400

BINDING: Paperback / softback

LANGUAGE: English

DIMENSIONS: 153 mm x 234 mm

WEIGHT: 589 gr