Surprise: The Recession Could Be Good for Your Health

Wednesday, September 30, 2009 by: S. L. Baker, features writer
Tags: public health, health news, Natural News

(NaturalNews) As the U.S. continues to face economic woes, real estate melt-downs and mounting unemployment, many people worry that their standard of living may suffer. But if you think good health is a far grander treasure than a big house and fat bank account, here's good news: the recession could turn out to be good for a lot of Americans, both physically and emotionally.

In poor countries where people struggle to live on less than $5,000 per capita a year, it makes sense that economic growth improves health because it increases access to enough food to survive, clean water to drink, shelter from the elements and basic health services for emergencies. However, a paper just published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) concludes that in countries with a strong per capita income, greater national wealth does not equate with better health for its citizens.

In fact, life expectancy goes up, not down, in developed countries during economic recessions, according to the CMAJ analysis. "In terms of business cycles, mortality is procyclical, meaning it goes up with economic expansions and down with contractions, and not countercyclical (the opposite), as expected," Dr. Stephen Bezruchka of the University of Washington's School of Public Health writes in the study. "The United States, with the highest GNP (gross national product) per capita in the world, has a lower life expectancy than nearly all the other rich countries and a few poor ones, despite spending half of the world's health care bill.'

So how could a recession, with stress-producing unemployment, improve anyone's health? Dr. Bezruchka's paper does acknowledge that suicides and mental health woes can increase when people are out of work. However, there is also evidence that smoking, excessive alcohol consumption and overeating are likely to decline during recessions, producing beneficial impacts on health. What's more, when unemployment rates are high, people have time to develop closer relationships with friends and family (especially children) and that can result in a lower mortality rate, according to the public health researcher.

Writing in the on-line nurses' blog "Off the Charts", American Journal of Nursing clinical editor Christine Moffa states that she, too, sees a silver health lining in the current recession. The reason? It may spur people to get more exercise by choosing to walk instead of driving or taking the bus. In fact, Moffa writes she decided to give up her own $80-per-month MetroCard and now walks to and from work.

World War II food rationing provides an important historical example of how economic hardships can actually benefit health. A paper published in the journal Nutrition Today by scientist Carolyn D. Berdanier, Ph.D., points out that food rationing was a challenge to homemakers but a boon to overall health. Folks on the home front cut down on fatty foods because they had to stretch their small allotments of foods like butter and cheese. And to supplement their meager pantries, people turned to growing and eating lots of home-grown vegetables in what became known as Victory Gardens.

In the long run , this new way of eating produced unexpected and remarkable health benefits. Despite the stress of economic hardships and a world at war, obesity rates dropped and new cases of type 2 diabetes dramatically decreased, too.

For more information:
http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/181/5/28...
http://journals.lww.com/nutritiontodayonline...
http://ajnoffthecharts.wordpress.com/2009/04...