Health Inequalities: Progress and Next Steps [antikvár]

Foreword by the Secretary of StatemmI am determined that the Department of Health makes its contribution tocreating a fairer society, where place of birth and parental occupation doesn'tdetermine a child's future. Physical or mental ill health can remove everyprospect of a fulfilled life. The fact that poorer people have the worse healthremains an indictment on our society. Reducing health inequalities wouldmean that children in disadvantaged areas would be less likely to havedecayed teeth, more likely to be a healthy weight and to live a long andhealthy life.A fair society means helping people to make healthier choices in many different aspects of theirlives. It doesn't detract from personal responsibility or impose a nanny state. I believe there is amiddle way, where we acknowledge that some people live in circumstances that make it muchharder for them to choose healthy lifestyles. We can't ignore the facts - people living in deprivedareas are more likely to smoke, to eat less nutritional meals, take less physical exercise and be moresusceptible to drugs and alcohol abuse. We want to ensure better health for everyone irrespectiveof social class. But the most disadvantaged are the least assertive and are experiencing the worsthealth outcomes. They require more help.What happens in childhood lays the foundations for our health throughout our lives. Whilst wemust continue to focus on increasing life expectancy and reducing infant mortality, our objectivebeyond 2010 must be to create incentives to act early in the life of children and to give everyonethe best chance of leading a healthy life. By doing so we can create a fairer and healthier society.This document sets out how we can all work together to achieve that vision.Alan JohnsonSecretary of State for Health