http://www.cbc.ca/story/science/national/2005/05/09/Poverty050509.html Poverty affects health more than smoking, study suggests Last Updated Mon, 09 May 2005 20:41:16 EDT CBC News REGINA - Poverty erodes a person's health more than smoking, drinking or lack of exercise, a Statistics Canada study suggests. Education and income were more important for middle-aged health than acting healthy, said the study, released on Monday. "Among middle-aged adults aged 45 to 64, socio-economic characteristics such as the education level and household income were more important determinants of healthy aging than healthy behaviours," it said. The eight-year study of middle-aged adults found that only after the age of 65 does healthy living impact health more than financial well-being. Some older people are simply too poor to live a healthy life, said Wally Coates, a board member of a Saskatchewan seniors group. "A lot of them are eating cheaper foods," Coates said. "They're not necessarily getting a balanced diet with fruits and vegetables. Because that all adds up to more money, eh? It's just not a lot of money, if you have to live in the neighbourhood of 12,000 a year." The Statscan researchers warned, however, that it's too early to determine the consequences of unhealthy living for the middle-aged segment of the study, which is continuing. And it suggested that people benefit in the long term by healthy living. As in previous studies, the government research also suggests that moderate drinking could protect against illness. Norm O'Rourke, a gerontology professor at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, objected to the finding. He called it "crude." "Moderate alcohol consumption is very strongly tied to socio-economic status," O'Rourke said. "If you're sitting down each night for a dinner with a glass of wine, the likelihood is that you don't have Wendy's take-a-way." He said the study didn't pay nearly enough attention to the crucial role of attitude, noting a person's outlook on life is very important as they get older. ------------------- Problems/Questions? Send it to Listserv owner: [log in to unmask] To unsubscribe, send the following message in the text section -- NOT the subject header -- to [log in to unmask] SIGNOFF SDOH DO NOT SEND IT BY HITTING THE REPLY BUTTON. THIS SENDS THE MESSAGE TO THE ENTIRE LISTSERV AND STILL DOES NOT REMOVE YOU. To subscribe to the SDOH list, send the following message to [log in to unmask] in the text section, NOT in the subject header. SUBSCRIBE SDOH yourfirstname yourlastname To post a message to all 1000+ subscribers, send it to [log in to unmask] Include in the Subject, its content, and location and date, if relevant. For a list of SDOH members, send a request to [log in to unmask] To receive messages only once a day, send the following message to [log in to unmask] SET SDOH DIGEST To view the SDOH archives, go to: https://listserv.yorku.ca/archives/sdoh.html