On Demand
Bad Times, Good Health
An economic downturn may be bad for your bank account--but maybe not your physical health. Christopher Ruhm, professor of economics at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, tells us why. Ralph Catalano, professor of public health at the University of California at Berkeley, says the link isn't all that clear.
- About the Brian Lehrer Show »
- Staff Bios »
- Contact Us »
- Tapes and Transcripts »
- Latest Episode »
- Show Archive »
Features & Series
Podcast
Stay up to date.
Subscribe to the Podcast
YOU PRODUCE The Brian Lehrer Show
Be a listener-producer with facts, questions and people you'd like to hear on the air.
More
The Brian Lehrer Show Scrapbook
Visit the scrapbook for daily photos and miscellany from The Brian Lehrer Show.
More
Shop at Amazon!
The Brian Lehrer Show picks
Start your Amazon shopping on WNYC.org and a portion of your total purchase goes to WNYC.
More
Comments
After listening to Brian Lehrer show “Corn Swaggled” about Curt Ellis and Aaron Woolf, who produced of the documentary ‘King Corn’, I’m trying to stay healthy by not eating meat & milk in my condo. This is saving me a lot, I still curry lunchbox to work. I still reserve the right to eat meat at my friends.
Yes, I can attest...
It was VERY hard being laid-off after 9/11.
I am still quite fear-based regarding jobs as I was unemployed for so long.
Sounds like more ivory tower pondering to me, yah if you have a buttload of money in the bank or a trust fund somewhere! If you are self employed and thins slow down the tendency is is to batten down the hatches and not spend (food, gas entertainment, etc) and it is quite depressing.
Might it not be "forced" exercise and dieting? I mean, less disposable income could logically lead to more walking (instead of cabs, subways, etc.) and less dining out.
I hope no taxpayer money went to fund this silly research. I don't need research to tell me that i'm better off when i can afford to eat and go to the doctor.
I defenitely feel sensitive to the fear-based culture of "recession." There's not been a sig. change to the jobs in my family's household (not yet) but we are tightening the belt. No more ordering in more than once a week. No more getting coffees outside the house. I don't know if it's helped our health but I am glad to be making more meals again. I think this is better for our health -- AND mental health. It feels good to be resourceful. Oh... and instead of loading up on books at the Barnes and Noble for my daughter I'm using my Library.
As a reaction to the current economy and to fight the anxiety. My husband and I try to concentrate on staying healthy. Eating right exercising aand a positive attitude. When you are constantly worried because of money suddendly you find yourself looking for ways to take of your health to combat the effects and maintain a lifestyle.
Economic downturn
Some of the professors' arguments sound, true but, what about feeling bad due to bad economy and mental depression physical illness? these questions are no speculative, they are real. Professors, please explain.
"king corn was great. it really made me rethink food.
people who are depressed eat less or they just can't afford food? what's new here?
on the other hand many real poor people have a weight problem. the cheapest food is the worst food for you.
Come on. Being broke sucks. Paying too much to drive your car to work sucks. Paying too much to heat your house sucks.
I've been there, I was laid off in 2003 and had to go into debt to pay my bills for a year. I'm STILL paying it off.
I was pretty slim at the time, though I didn't feel any "healthier" at the time. I was stressed out and had stress-related health problems.
perhaps people are not able to afford some of the unhealthy activities because they just can't afford it. Like eating extra is not nec. getting more time to sleep or perhaps they are connecting with others that are in the same boat. So they are getting a lot of benefit of social and physical needs. it seems counterintuitive. maybe what is happening is that people who are understress who have stressful jobs which is worse stress than not having a job plus they may have jobs that are lower paying and less stressfull? Is that part of the study? What is the stress level of the average job that is being lost?
I don't understand how it can be argued that having less money will lead to a healthier lifestyle. It is well-documented that processed foods are cheaper and contribute to obesity and type II diabetes. I don't believe that people will eat less; they will simply eat cheaper.
Let's keep in mind that many people are losing health insurance because it isn't provided by employers or they lose their jobs and can't afford cobra. They won't be able to go to the doctor and get health care they need.
WE ARE IN A RECESSION, HEADED TOWARDS A DEPRESSION! Wake up people and smell the coffee!!
If you go to the "national bureau of economic research" website, it turns out to be a Milton Friedman inspired right wing think tank.
Of course, they're going to pay smart people to come up with data to convince us that poverty is good for our health.
After all, they don't want us getting "restless".
Bottom Line: The Annoyed and disgusted tone from Dr Catalano was justified. What Ruhm was pushing was the equivalent of the tobacco trade groups telling us that there's no proven direct link between smoking and cancer.
Junk science in service to political agendas...and they do it under the guise of a non profit to boot!
It would be funny if it weren't so pathetic.
I just lost my job 2 days ago. The first thing I did was reorganize my frig, measuring and dividing the groceries and cooked foods into small portions. I remember thinking, now I will finally drop some of this weight, since groceries & liquor will be relegated to the bottom of the necessities list, & I eat mostly fresh not pre-prepared foods. I wasn't spending much money out because I was saving to buy a home. Those savings will probably be my cushion right now. I am sleeping 2-3 hours more, begin the day with a workout, so I feel less stressed, but I know I may be out of work for 5-12 months. Probably my only expenditure will be to join my local Y. It cost $51 to fill my car with gas this week. When I bought the car in 2005 it cost $14.00. Of course I am disappointed about having to forestall my decision to purchase a home.
Hi,
The depression era generation used hundreds of cost saving measures that are now recommended for health and environmental reasons:
cooking from scratch at home; walking, biking, and planning car trips carefully; using clothes, plastic bags etc until worn out.
My grandmother would laugh at the health pundits and environmentalists "rediscovering" these frugal and sensible habits.
Melissa
Hey, et #2, I hear you, but if you were laid off after 9.11, let me assure you that even those of us who weren't laid off were UNBELIEVABLY stressed out and depressed for at least the first year afterward. I know being unemployed didn't help your situation, but try to keep it in perspective -the entire city, employed or not, was freaked out. I can't imagine if I was also unemployed at that time, I would have been inconsolable. Having a job, (even one that I disliked immeasurably) gave me something else to think about.
I may have to relisten to this, but it sounds like Chris Ruhm is saying that unemployment can lead to better health, but later in the program he admits that suicide rates also increase for the unemployed. Disconnect?
This thread is closed.
Back to Episode