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Kings Fund report warns of widening health inequalities
Newly published research from the Kings Fund indicates
that health inequalities will be exacerbated if comprehensive action is
not taken to tackle unhealthy lifestyle behaviours amongst the poor.
The study looked at the number of people engaging in
multiple activities that pose a risk to health, including smoking,
alcohol consumption, physical inactivity and poor consumption of fruit
and vegetables. Results showed that whilst there has been a significant
drop in the proportion of people in England engaging in multiple
unhealthy behaviours, almost all the improvement has been amongst higher
socioeconomic and better-educated groups.
The authors state that the overall reduction in multiple
unhealthy lifestyle behaviours constitutes “an unsung public health
success”, however they highlight targeting individual unhealthy
behaviours may not be the answer for improving health outcomes amongst
the poorest groups.
The report uses minimum pricing as an example of the
Coalition Government’s commitment to interventionist public health
measures when necessary. However, the authors raise concerns about the
Department of Health’s lack of a “generally holistic approach to
lifestyle risk”, with fears that without an integrated approach to
behaviour change, the Government will fail to achieve its stated goal of
improving the health of the poorest, fastest.
To download a copy of the Kings Fund report, click here. (pdf 369kb)