Why are middle class older people so much more healthier than their poorer counterparts?

[Gorzf]

Sorry, if this is obvious to people but I can't help but notice all the well off people I meet in their 50s/ 60s / 70s, they're just healthy, their skin is glowing, they're fit and mobile.

I am a child of immigrants who came with nothing. We were quite poor growing up, the only kid in my friendship group on free school meals. Even as an adult I'm not particularly well off, just getting by. Growing up, most older people in my poor area / community just declined. It was almost a thing I thought was just normal, that's what happens.

It wasn't as I grew older and started meeting people from different socioeconomic status that I realised that wasn't the case.

It can't just be about having more money, surely. What is it that they're doing that the poor folk around me didn't do.

earlier retirement ages

Struggling for money is a nasty, viscous circle. You worry, you work hard, you get anxious if there's less work, you get stressed about prices going up, you can't keep as warm, you get cold and wet getting around if no car, your shoes wear out quicker as you walk more and they're cheaper, you can't afford new shoes, you carry heavy bags and strain your back, you stay in and watch tv as can't afford to go out much, you move less and get weaker. Your house gets cold and damp if you can't afford the heating on much. You brush your teeth with cheaper toothpaste, you buy the cheapest bread with the most additives and the least nutrients, same with all food. Same with everything. You can't afford to sign your kids up to football clubs or take them swimming.

It's shit.
I wish they'd hurry up and make social prescribing the norm.

It’s easier to make good choices when you’re financially comfortable.

if I can expect to get home to a fridge full of quality food and cook a healthy meal in a nice kitchen it’s really easy not to eat a bunch of crappy biscuits in the work kitchen or grab fried food on the bus home.

If I grew up in a culture which valued looking after myself then I can roll out my yoga mat and stretch after work or pull on my comfortable workout clothes and head out for a jog. Instead of slumping on the sofa with biscuits / wine / poison of choice

If I know I can have nice things, I don’t grab at immediate things as the only available solace.

all those little choices are cumulative over a life time. Add in less access to dental care / more physical jobs / higher levels of stress…

I have been reading about social prescribing this week, the concept totally new to me - seems so enlightened!

Lower paid jobs mean more hours worked to get any kind of decent money, which then leads to less leisure time to exercise and relax

Hard, physical jobs - even well paid trades get dreadful back and knee problems

Cheaper, less nourishing foods

Poorer housing conditions

Inadequate education means missing out on health campaigns and information

Energy drinks is a more recent one. I deal with low income groups and they are often clutching an energy drink. I saw a lady with no teeth at 29 the other day.

Lack of opportunities to get out into the countryside and exercise, go to beauty spots. All of which is excellent for physical and mental health.

I can see from my own parents that having access to private health care is worth it's weight in gold at the moment. Any niggles and they're seen immediately so less stress.

It’s money. I’m amazed this needs pointing out.

You don’t have enough of it and you have a miserable, stressful, boring existence filled with mind numbing shit jobs and household chores. You comfort eat junk food, watch endless tv, smoke and drink. Depression and low self esteem lead to poor health and not taking care of oneself.

Rich people have the money to outsource chores, eat well, exercise, travel, groom self, have fun hobbies. They don’t tend to have food, drink, TV and fags as their only comfort.

we were in the states for our first - and there was a lot of emphasis on ‘the first 1000 days’ - nutrition in utero and up to the third birthday - setting children up physically for life.

There was a very famous study carried out decades ago - it studied the health and wellbeing of a huge number of civil servants over decades - and it demonstrated that work related stress is inversely linked to autonomy in your work. Nothing at all to do with seniority.

So, if you work in a call centre you have no autonomy in your job - you can’t control the rate of incoming work, the order you complete tasks in, what you say to customers, when you have breaks.

A senior manager has a huge amount of autonomy - they have much more choice over how and when to work, they can organise their work to suit their working style, they can pause for a cup of tea whenever they like etc.

It really surprised the researchers when the study proved that high responsibility does not at all equate to high stress - it’s all about autonomy.

My professional job is an absolute doddle physically and emotionally, compared to the stress of the crap paid ones I had when I was a single Mum.

My stresses these days are is that software working and if not, why not? How do I fix it? I've got three reports to produce for Friday afternoon, if you stopped emailing me to say you want something else done that isn't important, much less urgent if it's even actually my job to do it in the first place, I'd actually have a chance of completing them. Oh, and I'm sure I ordered that on next day delivery. Why is it scheduled for Tuesday instead? Oh, well, I'll change the delivery address to work.

My stresses back then were

Can I afford food? I can't. How can I get food? Who is the best company to knock the bill? I can't miss rent or council tax, but I can't afford them and travel to work. I can't get my prescription. I'm in trouble at work because they said my shoes aren't smart enough, but I can't afford a new pair. Shit, I've laddered my tights and I'm not allowed to wear trousers or have bare legs, so I'm going to be in trouble for that as well. No, I can't 'just buy a suit' because you've decided everybody should have a suit jacket on the back of their chair. Shit, washing powder's gone up again. They're going to fire me, I know it. If I don't pay the council tax, the whole lot will fall due and then they'll send bailiffs in, but if I don't pay the rent, they'll start eviction proceedings. And I can't afford either and eat. Fuck. Will they notice if I take one toilet roll? SHIT I've come on. Fuck fuck fuck. It really hurts. Yes, I would take a painkiller. But I don't have any money to buy some. No, not even 50p. If I go to the GP, I'd need to take time off. And I'm not allowed to. Wouldn't be able to afford the prescription charge anyhow, so it's pretty pointless going. Another staff collection? I don't have a fiver. No, I genuinely don't have a fiver. I'm not trying to be a dick, I just don't have a fiver. No, I understand that we all work as a team here and that teamwork is an important part of appraisal. But I don't have a fiver. Looks like snow. Shit. Oh well, suppose it'll block some of the draught in the bedroom. God, I am so cold.

There's nothing like knowing there will always be money in the bank and having a warm, secure home, good bed, clothes, shoes and food to essentially eliminate 98% of all known stress.

I think bereavement is an under appreciated factor.
If you live in a community with a very low life expectancy, you will probably be bereaved a number of times by middle age.
If you're a woman, you might have cared for one or more of these people through their final illness.
This takes an incredible emotional toll.
It's common for women to fall into poverty by becoming carers. Then stay on sickness benefits long term due to the effect of emotional exhaustion and grief.
And that poverty and emotional strain will take a toll on their physical health as well.

@unlimiteddilutingjuice I agree

Being poor is very stressful and means you can’t take a long term view of anything - you’re just trying to get through the day. Being healthy in old age requires long term awareness and self care.

However, it’s not necessarily about money. In lots of cases, it’s cultural. The biggest indicator of whether you’ll be fat is whether your friends are overweight. The secretaries at my office get deep fried food from the chippy for lunch, the senior staff get soup or a salad. The meals will cost the same

As well as all the better food, housing, medical treatment immediately if you choose to go private and not worrying about bills you actually have things to look forward to when you have money.

I was raised in poverty but we lived right by the beach thankfully so I had all those beach days as a child. Swimming, sandcastles, collecting driftwood for the open fire, fishing, collecting cockles, bait digging, skipping stones.

Many poor children and adults just don’t have the chance to experience much at all.

It's because the lower classes usually have less self respect. Nothing to do with money really
A McDonalds meal is now over £7. Some vegetables, a tin of tomatoes, and some cheese and maybe some wholemeal pasta will make a delicious healthy meal in 15minutes and costs less than the crap they all eat (or have delivered) every day.
You don't have to have any money to switch off the telly and go for a walk or a jog with your kids.

These people have far more time on their hands than full time workers to relax and invest in their health.
They can stay in bed and have longer lie-ins.
They have more spare time than most who put in a 40 hour week.

In short OP, the answer to your question is Drugs, Alcohol, Smoking, fast food and laziness.

In short OP, the answer to your question is Drugs, Alcohol, Smoking, fast food and laziness

That ignores the fact that plenty of mc people abuse drugs, alcohol, food & smoke..

I'm pretty sure a lot of the data points this way.
Also poor housing, but smoking and diet (partly due to food deserts though these are more common in big cities) play a part.

See I don't think it's just money.

I come from a very working class family with many members still in what would definitely be classed as poor areas

If you gave them £500 they still wouldn't use it for a middle class activity like a holiday with plenty of walking and fresh air.

They have as much disposable income as we do and go on similar caravan holidays but where we go for walks along the coast, farm parks, swimming etc, they love the entertainment (drinking) and slot machines.

It's more complicated than money. As someone else said it's about more time indoors, in front of the telly. There's a reason the Royle family for example resonated.

When you take this into older age it is similar to some of the reasons the last generation of women so significantly outlived men. In retirement women continued to run the home. Men who had work centred lives out their slippers on and deteriorated.

Middle classes carry on with more in the way of hobbies and activities which keep mind and body active.

Of course money plays a role. If you have a garden then you are much more likely to get both the mental and physical benefits for example.

But money alone won't fix this.

news.sky.com/story/amp/uk-food-deserts-1-2-million-people-too-far-from-supermarkets-to-get-cheap-fresh-food-11523391

Far better access to healthy food (food poverty was an issue in the UK even before the Tories' austerity drive) is an obvious reason.

Less stress is another: having more money means far less worry as well as more control over life circumstances.

Better access to healthcare (some might have private healthcare, but even at a basic level, dentistry costs a lot, therapy costs a lot).

Living in healthier areas (air pollution and noise pollution tend to be in poorer neighbourhoods).

Can afford better make up and cosmetic work?

I'm very middle class and I do all those things.

However, I have less excuse than someone who hasn't the education or resources not to. :)

I think many middle classes suffer from poor health too if I'm honest. Gout, high cholesterol, diabetes. Usually a richer diet, too much expensive alcohol and red meat can cause just as many issues. Over indulgence.

The working classes are more likely to work in physical and manual jobs. It will take its toll.

Smoking and dental care are two biggies.i suspect weather actually does account for more of the north/south divide than you’d think as well. I can tell the difference I step foot off the train in certain northern cities versus London. People look different and I can’t really explain why.

Money buys choices ultimately but makes life easier in lots of little ways. Eg during the pandemic I could send my children into the garden to play while children in flat were often stuck inside without space to really play. Those sorts of differences add up over a lifetime.

My DM is in her seventies and in excellent health. She is fussy about food, eats small portions, gave up UPFs before Chris and Xand were even born and walks everywhere.

You've gone beyond the point of healthy life expectancy in the poorest boroughs, so yes you're considered old.