Wow, 100 years. That's fantastic news!

There is the false assumption that the rich live longer only because they can "afford" better health care.

You actually stating obvious fact. But it is part of the thing.

Making medical care more affordable will not have a major impact on the wealth/health gradient unless it also alters these health-related behaviors.

Actually all other behavior are not exist in vacuum. People live in society. Rotten capitalist one, made for profit not for healthy life.

Failure to understand that people are not autonomous individuals leads to common capitalist recipes that never really work. It is like smoking. Put extreme propaganda and rise prices, but not eliminate sources of stress - get new opioid crisis and cancer cases really not reducing if not rising.

Well, the quote you pasted in the opening appears not to be aware of the obvious fact that the statement there "The rich are able to reduce their stress, purchase the highest quality food and health care" is quite a misleading statement about the reasons for the income-health relationship

It is not misleading, it is spot on. Rich have much less stress. They really purchase much better food. And they really have much more timely and much better health care.

It is a reason for sure, but not likely the main one - the wealthy live longer healthy lives, they don't spend that extra 15 years of life attached by tubes to expensive medical support systems or consuming exotic curative drugs.

It is special fact twisting thing. As their main advantage considering healthcare system is much more regular checks, much more qualified personnel who do it. In case of found issue they get best treatment possible currently and fast, even if it is very expensive and available in limited places.

But as you well know stress exists in many countries with different systems than capitalism and there is unhealthy behavior there too. This is not a defense of capitalism.

Actually it is, and pretty bad defense. Destruction of normal healthy life, healthy food, and stress free living by capitalists who became ruling class is very good documented.

@eatstoomuchjam The cited post above has no information on drug addiction and income (it focuses on welfare use and employment but not income). People on welfare are poor, but they are not the only poor. And besides, that cite indicates drug "abuse" is actually greater for those on welfare than those not. In fact it says: "But research suggests addiction is a result, not a cause, of poverty." So, poverty causes unhealthy behavior - wow, classist! But that cite also conflates illegal drug use and addiction. Drug abuse is not smoking weed, but yet the cite is filled with information on the use of illegal drugs, which is not relevant to the health issue. Opioids are legal drugs, and most abusers have legal prescriptions.

Instead of worrying about political correctness you should learn to use data from original sources. The fact is unhealthy behavior - addiction, obesity, smoking, not fastening seat belts, all of which significantly affect longevity - is greater among the poor than the less poor. This is a set of facts that suggests the problem of poorer health among the poor is more profound than their inability to purchase the best health care. It is a reason to care more about the consequences of poverty, and suggests that solutions to health are more complicated than better health care for all. What induces the unhealthy choices of those with lower income? If we want to improve the health of the poor we have to understand the problem. I know you don't want to hear that the health/income problem cannot be easily solved by just reforming the health care system. It is NOT an argument for not doing so either. Inconvenient.

Vitaliy: You did not understand what I was saying - I was saying I was NOT defending capitalism. I have no interest in arguing with you about the problems of capitalism, of which there are many. I am only interested in getting out facts. What I was saying is that all other systems are characterized by people who choose unhealthy behaviors. Alcoholism in Russia is a major problem and is not diminishing, as you well know. That does not mean capitalism is better than whatever the system is in Russia. But it is a fact. The rising addiction and obesity rates in almost all countries is becoming the biggest health issue in the world, not solved by improving access to better doctors. In fact doctors are the root of the opioid crisis.

You want to emphasize the obvious- the better health care of the rich, fine. But the fact is that it does not account for much of their health advantage. If they eat healthier foods (which they do) it is not because healthier foods are too costly for the poor or unavailable to them. The only advantage of being wealthy is better health care; that is important and should not be ignored but it is far from the whole story for explaining healthiness. Facts that are inconvenient to one's ideology are still facts.

You did not understand what I was saying - I was saying I was NOT defending capitalism. I have no interest in arguing with you about the problems of capitalism, of which there are many. I am only interested in getting out facts.

Well, if you check PV posts you will find tons of facts, including on all areas mentioned here.

What I was saying is that all other systems are characterized by people who choose unhealthy behaviors.

And this is called idealism. Fundamentally wrong view.

Alcoholism in Russia is a major problem and is not diminishing, as you well know. That does not mean capitalism is better than whatever the system is in Russia. But it is a fact.

First statement is false.

Second statement is also false. Problems with alcohol here started with mr. Khrushchev and initial stages of turning to capitalism.

The rising addiction and obesity rates in almost all countries is becoming the biggest health issue in the world, not solved by improving access to better doctors. In fact doctors are the root of the opioid crisis.

Capitalist(!) doctors are one part of opioid crisis, small correction.

Same as obesity ratings, as it is consequence of fundamental property of capitalism.

You want to emphasize the obvious- the better health care of the rich, fine. But the fact is that it does not account for much of their health advantage. If they eat healthier foods (which they do) it is not because healthier foods are too costly for the poor or unavailable to them. The only advantage of being wealthy is better health care; that is important and should not be ignored but it is far from the whole story for explaining healthiness. Facts that are inconvenient to one's ideology are still facts.

I each day observe tons of poor people who count every penny to buy one apple or such. In US/EU it is better, but good and diversified food is still quite expensive. Can just talk and read research made by people involved in food help and subsidies areas.

@joethepro

Problem is fundamental error you make. As you view each human as someone independent from society and reality who can just think and start consuming healthy food.

Healthy diet information is everywhere. Everyone has access to the internet now. There's no excuse for maintaining a shitty diet.

Exactly as I said above. :-) If you see such thing and society behaves differently it does mean that you do not understand how society works.