Social Class Sociology

obese, 25 % of social class V are obese. This is the same level as in

There are many different reasons why health inequalities exist due to many factors one extremely important one is social class. Socio-economic inequalities have been researched in the UK for many years. In the early 20th century the government started an occupational census which gave the researchers the opportunity to examine health outcomes of social class. The five class scheme was introduced in 1911 and a variation has been used since. In 2001 the National Statistics Socio Economic Classification replaced the older version. Social class is a name used to identify people who are similar in their income

People in the higher class tend to have a better living standards and to have a higher quality of life and health compared to those in the lower class, this is the patterns between social class. The black reports found out that the lower class tend to be the ones who end up with the most diseases such as cancer, bronchitis and diabetes. This is because the lower class had a poorer diet and they lack exercise also they are mostly alcoholic and smokers which generally lead to poor life styles. The higher class have better diets and better exercise which means they are more healthier and physically fit.

Sociologists propose that the similar correlation between major health disparities and indicators of socio-economic status can be explained by the concept of class. Class is a social concept created by describing the unequal distribution of wealth, power and resources. The concept proposes that it is a hierarchal system that classifies people into lower, middle and upper class, however these terms can be used interchangeably with others such as working and elite classes. The disparities in health, mentioned above, and indicators of class include measures such as mortality, morbidity and disability rates.

In essence these psychosocial pathways occupy an intermediate role between the social determinants of health and class related health behaviours. This suggests that, while the social gradient of health is a good predictor of predisposition to ill health among specific classes, it cannot predict how reducing inequality in itself will affect health outcomes or how a specific social class will respond to these changes. An examination of some initiatives aimed at reducing inequality in the indicators of health outcomes reveals this problem;

Have you ever thought about your starting point? Have you ever thought about what kind of life you were born into? Have you ever thought about where you would be in life if you were born into a household belonging to a different social class? These are the types of questions one must consider when discussing the lower classes and the fact that they are less active and therefore less healthy than the middle to upper classes. With that being said, it is debatable as to whom to blame for this problem in our society. Although many believe that lower class people have only themselves to blame for this fact, I believe that their health is based off of societal contributors that are largely out of the control of the individual. Within this essay, I will prove why our system is unfair by looking into different case studies that provide evidence as to why lower class people suffer as a result of the social determinants of health.

Yet, the lower class does not face worse conditions in the education system and medical industry alone. The lower-class experiences worse health conditions in life than those of the middle or upper class. People who live in lower classes often take part in bad habits ranging from drugs, diet, to unsafe sex. Their stress is also generally higher (Henslin,

The research surrounding social determinants of health has contributed to identifying the causes of disease, access to health care services, and several other predictors in the pre-cautionary risks surrounding the health care industry and the systemic problems created by exclusion. John W. Frank and J. Fraser Mustard (1994) authors of the article “The Determinants of Health from a Historical Perspective” argue that these issues have always been present in history. They suggest that since the introduction of the National Health Services to the United Kingdom in 1948 , the belief was that “the gradient in health across the social classes (the highest social class had the lowest mortality rates, and the lowest social classed had the highest mortality

classes are perhaps not as clear as they used to be. But it is just as

According to Marmot Review 2010, people with higher socioeconomic positions in society have a greater array of life chances and more opportunities to lead a flourishing life comparing to lower social class. They also have better health than lower social classes because social class people are more likely to eat unhealthy foods, smoke and drink.

First we will consider how social factors can constrain our health behaviours, specifically if childhood SES can influence health later in life. Chen (2006) found that children from lower SES families were more likely to have school limitations consequently this could negatively impact on their intake on useful information regarding in health impairing behaviours e.g. smoking. Findings also revealed children from lower SES families were more likely to have fair or poor health as opposed to good health, also families in bottom bracket of income

Black report: this report was an influential report on the working group on health inequalities under the chairmanship of Sir Douglas Black. This report argued that working class men and women are significantly more likely than are those in managerial or professional classes to die early, and that children that are born into working class homes are exposed to higher risks of early mortality, illness and injury than those coming from middle class backgrounds. It also suggested that although many absolute improvements in the various rates have been achieved over time, some class differentials in health outcomes had actually increased over the period of 30 years or so since the NHS was first established. It argued that this was due, not so much

In the chapter, we explore concepts that determine social class and health inequalities. The authors, Julie MuMullin, and Lorraine Davies discusses the link between social class and inequality and an individual's well-being and health. Studies have shown that people who have higher income, higher education, and better jobs are expected to live longer and do not contract sicknesses. On the other hand, individuals that with lower income, lower education, and bad jobs are expected to have shorter lives. This particular concept is consistent to what we see in Canada, a nation that provides universal health care system for all individuals. Prior to this course I was aware of the concept of “the poor are getting poorer, and the rich are getting

In the UK becoming sick or dying can be linked to several factors, these being social class, gender, age and ethnicity. It is thought the higher the social class, the healthier a person is. People from a higher social class are less likely to develop and die from chronic illnesses such as lung cancer, or heart disease. The Acheson Report (Acheson 1998) shows a significant difference between the social classes, it also indicates that people living in the North are less healthy and suffering with long-term illness where as people living in the south seem to lead healthier lifestyles and suffer less illness. This has created what is known as the North/South divide, this is a direct link to social class.The working class are more likely to live

There has been a considerable amount of research into why people from certain strata in the society appear to have worse health and fewer good health opportunities than others. Health is defined as a state of complete physical, psychological and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease (Nettleton, 2006).Social class have influence on people’s health and well-being, whereby women life expectancy depends on the social class they belong to .For women who are categorised as higher social class generally have control and greater power over their day to day live. They will be able to eat organic food; visit private doctors in which it will keep them healthy lifestyle. They will have a position in the society and greater array life chances and more opportunities to lead a flourishing life.