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• The UK is a country where significant numbers of people suffer from ill-health, though there has long been a debate between individualists and collectivists on the cause: is it the individual's fault for poor lifestyle choice or are there wider collective factors
• This essay will examine to what extent the population's lifestyle choice can be blamed for ill health through smoking and drinking, poverty, poor diet and lack of exercise and poverty as a cause of lifestyle choice
• Poverty


  Can be blamed for ill-health as living in poverty has been linked to a number of health issues and a reduced life expectancy
• The Glasgow Effect argues that a toxic mix of high unemployment in Glasgow led to alcoholism, abuse and criminality causing chaos in young people's life which later manifested as ill-health
• Glaswegians have a 30% higher chance of premature death (before 65) compared to other deindustrialised cities like Liverpool and Manchester
• Youths growing up in poverty are at risk of ill-health due to poorer housing conditions which can cause health problems like asthma and eczema
• Recently in the UK social (which tends to be occupied by those in deprivation) and low-rent housing has often been infested with damp and mould which councils and housing associations refuse to fix
• Breathing in this damp and mould for extended periods of time can irritate your lungs increasing risk of asthma and skin, potentially causing eczema
• Awaab Ishak died from a respiratory condition caused by the Mould in Rochdale flat
• Poorer people living in social housing in the uk are at risk of ill-health due to poor housing conditions and inaction from landlords/councils
• Poverty could be blamed for ill-health in the UK because chaos experienced in young life and poor housing conditions are not choices but have been heavily linked to a number of illnesses like eczema, asthma and the other big killers detrimental to health outcomes
• Lifestyle choices can be blamed for ill-health as poor diet and lack of exercise are linked to a number of health issues and a reduced life expectancy
• In Scotland schools are mandated to teach pupils about the Scottish Dietary Goals and Eatwell Guide so they are discouraged from having a poor diet
• Scotland primary schools and schools have to provide either 2 hours/periods of PE a week to discourage a lack of exercise
• A poor diet causes many health risks, with only one being that high-fat diets cause cholesterol to collect in the arteries, raising blood pressure which increases the risk of life-endangering cardiac arrest and strokes
• A lack of exercise is linked to health risks like type 2 diabetes and various heart diseases caused by being overweight as you aren't burning enough calories through exercise
• In the UK only 40% of adults identify as eating a healthy diet most of the time with 14% of deaths in the UK being linked to poor diet
• The population of the UK is around 20% less active than it was in the 1960s leading to inactivity being associated with 1 out of 6 deaths in the UK and costing the NHS over £900m annually
• Many people have a poor diet and are sedentary in the UK leading to a number of health problems such as premature death and costing the health service
• Deprived areas are often "food swamps" and "food deserts" while people in poverty are struggling with the cost of living crisis
• People living in poverty are likely to experience increased stress and anxiety due to financial struggles and grow up around smokers
• Food deserts are deprived areas underserved by outlets selling affordable healthy food while food swamps are areas which are oversaturated by cheap fast food outlets
• The cost of living crisis causes food prices to rise due to inflation rising faster than wages, pushing people in poverty towards a poor diet as they may not be able to afford to travel to the supermarket or have to pick unhealthier, cheaper options when they are there so may instead choose the fast food in their areas
• In 2018 in the most deprived areas over 35% of people were obese (suggesting poor diet) compared to only 20% in the least
• In 2019 17% over 18 in the most deprived areas were smokers compared to only 9% in the least deprived areas
• Genetics can make someone more predisposed to developing some types of cancers and high cholesterol
• Up to 10% of cancers are caused by genetics, meaning that in some cases causes of ill health such as poverty are more irrelevant
• Age is also a factor that may affect health as type 2 diabetes becomes more probable to be developed after the age of 45 this is because with age the body becomes more susceptible to resisting insulin and causes the body to improperly produce glucose, leading to type 2 diabetes
• In 2010 the uk experienced a seismic shift with the election of a conservative liberal democrat coalition government who abandoned the collectivist approach of the previous labour government and introduced austerity which massively slashed the amount of money spent by the government resulting in the expanding of inequalities faced by certain groups of people such as low income families, people with disabilities, ethnic minorities, and women
• The conservative government has introduced a number of policies in order to reduce these inequalities
• Low income families struggle to pay for necessities due to the cost of living crisis rising at its fastest rate in the past 40 years, low wages and being in long term unstable employment
• 90% of those who work in the gig economy make less than £10,000 a year from it and that 18% of zero hour contract workers are in poverty
• In 2021 an estimated 1.4 million low income households are behind on council tax
• Universal credit is a payment system that combines six benefits for working age households with low income, and allows people to concentrate on finding employment while their bills are being paid for
• 2.3 million people have gotten jobs since being put on universal credit
• The living age increase is estimated to increase the incomes of low income families with low paid work, with Blackpool alone estimated to benefit by £6 million
• The government's policies have been limited in their success as food banks in 2023 have had to purchase 124% more food than 2022 and universal credit can usually take 5 weeks for families to receive their first payment, which could be too long for families with parents in unemployment
• A family with a disabled child is estimated to require an extra 18% income
• In 2018 research found that state spending on disability benefits had shrunk by £5 billion compared to the start of the decade
• The combined sum of disability is the 3rd largest chunk of welfare with £52 bn being spent in 2018