Posted on Mar 28, 2023
How poverty and racism 'weather' the body, accelerating aging and disease
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https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/03/28/ [login to see] /weathering-arline-geronimus-poverty-racism-stress-health
In 2020, the overall life expectancy in the U.S. dropped by 1.5 years, largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But the reduction wasn't shared equally among the general population; Native American people lost an average of 4.5 years of life expectancy; Black and Hispanic people lost, on average, 3 years, while white people lost only 1.2 years.
This figure tracks with other health trends: In general, Black and Hispanic people and those living in poverty in the U.S. have worse health outcomes — more high blood pressure, higher rates of diabetes and increased maternal and infant mortality — than the overall population.
Public health researcher Arline Geronimus from the University of Michigan says the traditional belief that the disparities are due to genetics, diet and exercise don't explain data that's accumulated over the years. Instead, she makes the case that marginalized people suffer nearly constant stress from living with poverty and discrimination, which damages their bodies at the cellular level and leads to increasingly serious health problems over time.
In 2020, the overall life expectancy in the U.S. dropped by 1.5 years, largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But the reduction wasn't shared equally among the general population; Native American people lost an average of 4.5 years of life expectancy; Black and Hispanic people lost, on average, 3 years, while white people lost only 1.2 years.
This figure tracks with other health trends: In general, Black and Hispanic people and those living in poverty in the U.S. have worse health outcomes — more high blood pressure, higher rates of diabetes and increased maternal and infant mortality — than the overall population.
Public health researcher Arline Geronimus from the University of Michigan says the traditional belief that the disparities are due to genetics, diet and exercise don't explain data that's accumulated over the years. Instead, she makes the case that marginalized people suffer nearly constant stress from living with poverty and discrimination, which damages their bodies at the cellular level and leads to increasingly serious health problems over time.
How poverty and racism 'weather' the body, accelerating aging and disease
Posted from npr.org
Poverty
Racism
Medical
Health
Posted 1 y ago
Responses: 1
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."On how social mobility of minorities doesn't mean less stress
[Our health is] an indicator of ... the context that we live in, of a society that is racist, oppressive, class conscious. ... We won't solve health inequalities between Blacks and whites or Latinx and whites or other groups simply by getting people more education or higher incomes. This chronic stress arousal is more likely in those kinds of unsupportive environments than ... the more supportive environments, if you stick with your own group. Weathering is not against social mobility, it's not for segregation, it's for non-erasure. It's for seeing and recognizing what is really happening, and what it does to you biologically, and realizing if we want to eliminate health disparities or promote health equity, we have to attend to what's happening in these different settings."
..."On how social mobility of minorities doesn't mean less stress
[Our health is] an indicator of ... the context that we live in, of a society that is racist, oppressive, class conscious. ... We won't solve health inequalities between Blacks and whites or Latinx and whites or other groups simply by getting people more education or higher incomes. This chronic stress arousal is more likely in those kinds of unsupportive environments than ... the more supportive environments, if you stick with your own group. Weathering is not against social mobility, it's not for segregation, it's for non-erasure. It's for seeing and recognizing what is really happening, and what it does to you biologically, and realizing if we want to eliminate health disparities or promote health equity, we have to attend to what's happening in these different settings."
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