Nor are individual lifestyle and health practices sufficient to make a difference. While it remains important for us to take responsibility for the way we eat, exercise, drink, for not smoking, and for getting the right vaccines and screening tests when needed, those actions alone cannot protect us from the broader environment. It has been proven that there are social, economic and cultural determinants of health, just as there are genetic determinants. We also know that on average, people with a higher income and education level are healthier and live longer than people with lower incomes and less education. Today, we are starting to understand how these social determinants affect the body through biological pathways to cause illness.
Countries can improve or worsen their health by their actions.
The most striking examples of this are in Japan where, in a span of 30 years, life expectancy has increased more than in any other country and, on the other hand, in Eastern Europe countries, where there has been a dramatic reduction in the life expectancy of their populations. Both this improvement and this reduction in health are attributable to drastic changes in the social and economic environment. The social and economic conditions of family life have a significant impact on children and their health later in life. In particular, the 0-6 year period in the life of a child is critical for brain development. Unemployment is a particularly important determinant of health, and because work and family life are so closely linked, the negative impact of unemployment also affects spouses and children.