Higher status leads to a longer life

[Pooeypants]

Higher status leads to a longer life 00:01 08 June 04 NewScientist.com news service People of higher social status have better health and happiness than their lowlier contemporaries, according to a leading epidemiologist. But the effects of this "social gradient" on health can vary widely depending on time and location, reveals the latest research by Michael Marmot, professor of epidemiology and public health at University College London. Over 30 years of research by Marmot has shown that in western countries, where absolute deprivation and poverty is rare, "income per se is not an issue". "Where you stand in the social hierarchy - on the social ladder - is intimately related to your chances of getting ill, and the length of your life," writes Marmot in his book Status Syndrome. And just a small difference in social status can have a big effect on health, he says. For example, people with doctorates live longer than those with Master's degrees.

To read more, click here.

[Suburbanite]

Isn't that kind of a no-shit study? Less stress, more fun, better healthcare, more sex, etc.

[Pooeypants]

Originally posted by Suburbanite, Isn't that kind of a no-shit study? Less stress, more fun, better healthcare, more sex, etc.

It's a scientific report, so what do you think?

[Comrade]

"University hires financial consultant at $1,000 an hour to try and see why the university has financial problems..."

From Jay Leno, a long time ago.

[Pooeypants]

Originally posted by Comrade, "University hires financial consultant at $1,000 an hour to try and see why the university has financial problems..." From Jay Leno, a long time ago.

Err, have you actually read through the article?

[Suburbanite]

Jay Leno is a sell out.

[castille]

Less stress, more fun, better healthcare, more sex, etc.

Actually the "less stress and less work" is more of a myth (ie. like the "Arabs are all evil"). Most higher-status people I know are more stressed than the average peasant in rural lands. Where the Mr Farmer living on $10 a month might not have many concerns (as long as there is food), Mr Urban Executive in the big city has a lot more issues to deal with.

In many cases people earning higher incomes are in even more debt than lower-income people, due to the requirements for a high lifestyle (you dont turn up to work as the CEO in a t-shirt and boxers, unless you're CEO of a startup IT company ). There was a 60 mins report on how a girl working at Walmart started property investing - she had less expenses than CEOs, so saved more.

[castille]

Double posted

[syracusa]

Originally posted by castille, Actually the "less stress and less work" is more of a myth (ie. like the "Arabs are all evil"). Most higher-status people I know are more stressed than the average peasant in rural lands. Where the Mr Farmer living on $10 a month might not have many concerns (as long as there is food), Mr Urban Executive in the big city has a lot more issues to deal with. In many cases people earning higher incomes are in even more debt than lower-income people, due to the requirements for a high lifestyle (you dont turn up to work as the CEO in a t-shirt and boxers, unless you're CEO of a startup IT company ). There was a 60 mins report on how a girl working at Walmart started property investing - she had less expenses than CEOs, so saved more.

Ah, Castille, Castille, Castille...my favorite fellow forumer!! :)

So aren't we going back to what we were talking about in my thread...(the one with the gold-diggers?)..middle-classes, would-be money-makers, Old Money and New Money etc?
The executive you are talking about is typically upper-middle class. There are few people more tormented and tortured in this life than the middle- and upper-middle classes. The "eager to arrive"!!
Yes, it is about "social status" not about "living standard" - where you see yourself falling in the pecking order. And if you want to have goodies, if you want your children to end up in the fancy schools where powerful people are bred... you have to bust your ass your entire life, always anxious that you will never make it in those circles.

The poor or the "old" rich (those whose wealth has been in the family for a while) are the most "at peace" people in this world. They are not rushing anywhere and not try to "get into" any new social status becasue theirs is basically fixed and predetermined.

The stress that comes with "struggling to make it" your entire life is unbelievable.
Yeah...it's a "no shit" study.

[Pooeypants]

Another extract from the article;

Marmot led the landmark "Whitehall study", which followed the health of British civil servants and their job grades from the 1970s onwards. It showed that those at the bottom of the organisational pile - the clerks and the messengers - were much more likely to suffer coronary heart disease than the mandarins at the top. But now Marmot says the impact of this "status syndrome" also varies widely. "Hierarchies are inevitable, but how hierarchies are translated to differences in health is the crucial question. It varies across time and societies." Marmot cites the contrasting situations of Cuba, Japan and the US as an example. The US is a rich nation with a gross domestic product per person (GDP) of about $34,000 and a life expectancy of 76.9 years. But Cuba, with a GDP of only $5200 almost matches the US lifespan with an average of 76.5 years. And Japan, which has the longest life expectancy at 81.3 years, has a significantly lower GDP than the US - about $25,000. Social arrangements, education and social cohesion may be crucial factors. Japan may enjoy better health because of factors like low crime, better care of the elderly, higher industrial productivity and a smaller gap between rich and poor than countries like the US

I'm rather surprised about Cuba's average life expectancy, seems to be quite high for a supposedly poor communist nation.

[syracusa]

I'm rather surprised about Cuba's average life expectancy, seems to be quite high for a supposedly poor communist nation.

They're less stressed even though they have lower living standards.
After all you cannot lose your job in a socialist contry; if they kick you out they must provide another job for you anyway.

If you don't have a roof over your head - they'll provide one for better or for worse. Little subsistence-related stress.

In the US - if you lose your job, can't pay mortgage, end up in the street, etc - you're looked down upon by the entire society. You become the Mega-Loser of the century.

Talk about stress, anxiety...and poor quality of life. The most schmency-techy health care system in the world will not be able to fix that.

[Leopard]

is life expectancy the end-all be all of determining anything? It is one of a multitude of desires and has its place on everyones scale of 'values' but its specific place is not the same from person to person.

The only thing that this study is good for is it helps people determine better the effects of their actions in regards to their goals: and its pretty obvious... the more wealthy you are the better able you are to provide health insurance etc... just another reason to strive at increasing ones wealth.

michael

[Pooeypants]

I don't think you read the report correctly, it made a comparison between US (very high GDP per capita) and Cuba (fairly low), the live expectancy for Cuba is higher, what matters most is the social status, wealth isn't the only deciding factor in social status though, is it?

[castille]

Funny thing is, the richer people (Americans) are far more stressed than the poor folks (Cubans - you know, the guys who swim to Florida).

Its all about perspective. I know people who work for 7 cents an hour, yet still are happier than CEOs of major corporations.

[bugsbunny04]

Originally posted by Pooeypants, Higher status leads to a longer life   00:01 08 June 04   NewScientist.com news service   People of higher social status have better health and happiness than their lowlier contemporaries, according to a leading epidemiologist. But the effects of this "social gradient" on health can vary widely depending on time and location, reveals the latest research by Michael Marmot, professor of epidemiology and public health at University College London. Over 30 years of research by Marmot has shown that in western countries, where absolute deprivation and poverty is rare, "income per se is not an issue". "Where you stand in the social hierarchy - on the social ladder - is intimately related to your chances of getting ill, and the length of your life," writes Marmot in his book Status Syndrome. And just a small difference in social status can have a big effect on health, he says. For example, people with doctorates live longer than those with Master's degrees. To read more, click here.

More ass too.