title: Income inequalities in unhealthy life styles in England and Spain.
abstract: Health inequalities in developed societies are persistent. Arguably, the rising inequalities in unhealthy lifestyles might underpin these inequality patterns, yet supportive empirical evidence is scarce. We examine the patterns of inequality in unhealthy lifestyles in England and Spain, two countries that exhibit rising obesity levels with a high prevalence of smoking and alcohol use. This study is unique in that it draws from health survey data spanning over a period in which major contextual and policy changes have taken place. We document persistent income-related inequalities in obesity and smoking; both unhealthy lifestyles appear to be disproportionately concentrated among the relatively poor in recent decades. In contrast, alcohol use appears to be concentrated among richer individuals in both periods and countries examined.
authors: London School of Economics, Houghton Street W2A 2AE, London, England, UK. Electronic address: j.costa-font@lse.ac.uk.
authors: Joan
authors: J
authors: Costa-Font
authors: European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, LSE Health, UK.
authors: Cristina
authors: C
authors: Hernández-Quevedo
authors: Departamento de Economía Aplicada, Universidad de Granada, Spain.
authors: Dolores
authors: D
authors: Jiménez-Rubio
mesh_terms: D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004739:England / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: Alcohol consumption; Inequalities in unhealthy lifestyles; Obesity; Reporting bias; Smoking