The video focuses on the health issue in America today, wondering why there are such unsatisfactory mortality statistics in a country with such a high income. Specialists speaking for the video follow a trajectory in which human development is determined not by its genetic predispositions but by immediate social realities.
There is a close relationship between the overall life expectancy of the average resident and the financial security of the area where he lives. In general, residents of low-income neighborhoods live about ten years less than their more fortunate neighbors in other districts (Unnatural Causes, 2008). The middle class is stuck somewhere in between, with disappointing statistics of around 75 years of life expectancy.
In low-income counties, not only are life spans shorter, but the risk of infant death is also higher. According to statistics, the poorest area of the four shown in the video has the highest infant mortality rate.
At the same time, the poorest district is at the same time a place of maximum marginalization. Therefore, statistically, the number of minorities in it is much higher than in the other three districts.
It can be assumed that the standard of living in the richest area of the four is due to the degree of education of the demographic population. In this area, the number of college graduates is dramatically higher than in the other three, so it can be said that the lack of higher education in poor areas is a problem.
I find it fascinating that human health, although predetermined by biology and genes, is even more shaped by the ecosystem around them. Financial wealth, the amount of workload, the well-being of the life of the district, all these factors determine the future life of a person and its duration. They should be taken into account in order to understand that for the well-being of each individual life, it is necessary to change the conditions surrounding this life completely. Man as a biological organism evolves depending on the conditions offered to him, and it is obvious that one should strive to improve the shortcomings of the surrounding world.
Reference
Adelman, L. (Producer). (2008). Unnatural causes: Is inequality making us sick? [TV series] PBS.