Facts Still Count, As Well As Details

In an MIT study they claim that the lower income groups have almost a 15 years shorter life span than the high income groups. They state:

Poverty in the U.S. is often associated with deprivation, in areas including housing, employment, and education. Now a study co-authored by two MIT researchers has shown, in unprecedented geographic detail, another stark reality: Poor people live shorter lives, too. More precisely, the study shows that in the U.S., the richest 1 percent of men lives 14.6 years longer on average than the poorest 1 percent of men, while among women in those wealth percentiles, the difference is 10.1 years on average. This eye-opening gap is also growing rapidly: Over roughly the last 15 years, life expectancy increased by 2.34 years for men and 2.91 years for women who are among the top 5 percent of income earners in America, but by just 0.32 and 0.04 years for men and women in the bottom 5 percent of the income tables.

Now what of this fact. We have examined this in detail back in 2009 when looking at the proposed Health Care Plans. The real problem is that the lower income have the worst health habits. Obesity is rampant in lower incomes. Their diet is atrocious. They are smokers and are drinkers. They also do get poorer medical care but for reasons often less related to availability and economics than to mindset and attitude.

The upper income are more readily inclined to visit a physician and to address lifestyle issues. The lower income individuals often live neglectful lives regarding their health due to fear of doctors.

Thus the fact in the study may be correct the reasons are far to complex than just the income differences. It is a shame in my opinion that such research get so biased a coverage. Details count, not just the facts.