Describe and evaluate the view that it is behaviour rather than inequality that makes the poor and the working class poor, more likely to die younger and have an unhealthy life.
... linked to a variety of conditions including heart disease, cancer, strokes, bronchitis and asthma. ‘A Healthier Nation’, a list of policies in the Department of Health published in 1998, estimates that alcohol abuse leads to around 40,000 deaths a year and that one third of all cancers are the result of a poor diet. The cultural explanation is an unpopular one amongst a lot of sociologists as it fails to recognise the factors around the issues that mean people have trouble altering their lifestyle. ‘A Healthier Nation’ raise’s this issue stating; “…Low income, deprivation and social exclusion all influence smoking levels.” Whitehead (1992) examined four aspects of culture: smoking, drinking, eating and exercise. In a study he found a marked class gradient, i.e. the unskilled manual worker smoked 22% (women) and 38% (men) more than professional men and women. However he also found that there had been a decline in smoking in the manual labour group as with all the other groups, however only one had reached the government target for the year 2000-the ‘professional’ group. The survey also showed regional differences in areas of high unemployment such as North Manchester, which had a 10% higher average than Britain as a whole. This research provides evidence for ‘A Healthier Nati...