Both are true

Within a society, wealth is associated with good health.

But between societies, having large income disparities is associated with bad health for everyone. The cause is not understood, but stress levels are an obvious component.

[link|http://www.macses.ucsf.edu/Research/Social%20Environment/notebook/inequality.html|http://www.macses.uc...k/inequality.html] quotes some of the results on the latter phenomena.

So basically what this research tells me is that the second factor is beating the first factor. If stress is indeed the critical factor, then essentially we're hearing that there is more stress in the top third of US white males than in the bottom third of UK white males. This claim is interesting but it does not shock me - just look at the differing vacation policies in the two countries.

Cheers,
Ben

At least in respect to the workplace.

For example, I get 30 days a year paid leave, don't have to take any holiday at all to go to the dentist (just tell my boss I'm nipping out of the office for an hour), get fully paid sick leave up to six months, don't have to do my own taxes, can't be fired at will, and so on and so forth. I don't get out-of-hours calls, don't have to look at work email at home (except in extreme circumstances), and work a 37.5 hour week, arriving home at 4.30 every day. I get paid overtime for any extra hours I do, and I'm expected to charge all worked overtime. To say that my work-related stress level is low is understating it.

And my experience is pretty typical of the average UK worker working for any company of more than about 100 employees.

I have previously worked in jobs where I (needlessly) worried about them at home. It sucked royally, and I'm never going back to that.

Compare that to the 60 hour weeks that are seemingly routinely expected of US office workers, and I can understand why stress-related conditions like diabetes, heart disease and so on are so common.

That, and the fatty thing.

Welcome to IWETHEY!