Who can afford organic kale on minimum wage?

It’s no secret that how much money you make can affect how healthy you are. At a Zócalo event co-sponsored by the California Wellness Foundation, the audience in a packed auditorium at MOCA Grand Avenue learned that the difference in life expectancy between people living in Los Angeles’ richest and poorest neighborhoods is a jaw-dropping 10 to 12 years. “We associate this type of disparity with third-world countries,” said Roshan Bastani, director of UCLA’s Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Equity and a professor of health services in the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. “We don’t realize the same thing is happening in our own backyard.”     Zócalo Public Square Roshan Bastani, professor at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health Bastani was joined by LaVonna Lewis of the USC Price School of Public Policy and Tracie McMillan, author of “The American Way of Eating” for a discussion about the broad social and economic forces that limit low-income Americans’ access to organic vegetables and yoga classes enjoyed by wealthier people. What factors are holding the poor back? And what can be done to level the playing field? Moderated by Kaiser Health News senior correspondent Anna Gorman, the conversation began by addressing the still-bleak state of health in America and the various barriers that keep low-income people unhealthy. McMillan, who spent extensive time in impoverished communities to do research for her book, said that the problem she...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news