William Vaughan’s assertion that illnesses are caused by personal behaviors oversimplifies a complex problem. Our decisions impact our health, but so does our environment.
The social determinants of health are increasingly recognized as having a profound impact on a person’s well-being. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, social determinants are factors such as “the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age.”
Whether a person has a steady income, lives in a safe neighborhood, has access to high quality food, social support networks, safe places to walk, access to health care etc. all play an important role in an individual’s level of health.
Vaughan highlights the obesity epidemic as another self-imposed condition without considering the plethora of high calorie, low quality food in our environment. Food manufacturers have spent years manipulating formulas for everything from spaghetti sauce to soda to achieve what they refer to as the “bliss point” or the “greatest amount of crave.” Billions are spent annually marketing foods that are high in fat, sugar and salt, and food manufacturers have fought efforts to tax sodas.
No, Mr. Vaughan, individuals are not solely responsible for their health status. If it were only that simple.
Mary Ann Larson
Portland
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.