Your parents’ social standing and your stress level during early life change how your brain and body work... They may even alter your vulnerability to infection. In one study, scientists at Carnegie Mellon exposed volunteers to a common cold virus. Those who’d grown up poorer... not only resisted the virus less effectively, but also suffered more severe cold symptoms. About one in five children now lives below the poverty line, a 35 percent increase in a decade. Unicef recently ranked the United States No. 26 in childhood well-being, out of 29 developed countries. When considering just childhood poverty, only Romania fares worse. Some now argue that addressing health disparities and their causes is not just a moral imperative, but an economic one. It will save money in the long run. The University of Chicago economist James Heckman estimates that investing in poor children yields a yearly return of 7 to 10 percent thereafter to society. Early-life stress and poverty aren’t a problem of only the poor. They cost everyone.
Posted on: Mon, 19 Aug 2013 21:15:07 +0000
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