State of Obesity, a joint project of the Trust for America’s Future and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, has released a fascinating report about adult obesity. There are large national disparities. The obesity rate is over 35% in West Virginia and Mississippi, but only 21% in Colorado. Despite these disparities, obesity rates have grown everywhere … Continue reading »
health disparities
Slums, justice and health: From neighbourhood to nation
In Buenos Aires, Argentina, the government has established neighborhood “justice centers,” where residents of the city’s poorest areas can get legal assistance to gain access to government services, including health care, housing and other life-supporting programs. The model is similar to what the Asian Development Bank is supporting in Bangledesh, where a network of community … Continue reading »
How others’ (and our) attitudes about race affect our health
Health disparities across racial and ethnic groups suggest— but not conclusively— that discrimination affects your health. As a recent report from the American Psychological Association that I was a co-author on notes, minorities are far more susceptible to many diseases relative to majority groups, most notably heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. The data are as consistent … Continue reading »
Occupy what? Start with health
The central message of the Occupy Movement is that the vast differences in resources between the upper one percent and the remaining 99% of the population is unjust. It is unjust because people have unequal opportunity to access resources and to earn a livable income. This gap has been growing over the past thirty years in … Continue reading »