Is the recession corroding Americans' health in addition to their incomes?

    'Yes, for some,' says a recent study led by health economists at Yale University, which found that job losses can make the fat fatter and the drinkers drunkards.

    The study focused on workers above 50, who have been figuring prominently among the laid-off in recent decades and constitute an older group for whom heavy eating and drinking is more likely to have serious health consequences.

    For this group, results showed the body mass of the average laid-off food-lover increasing by the equivalent of more than seven pounds for a 5-foot, 10-inch man weighing 180 pounds during unemployment. Similarly, frequent drinkers on average doubled their daily alcohol intake after losing their jobs and before finding another one.

    Lay-offs don't necessarily send people reaching for the beer bottle or digging into the potato-chip bag, explain the authors. In some cases, they make people healthier by reducing the income they would otherwise spend on alcohol and junk food or allowing more time for physical exercise and outdoor activities.

    In fact, research focusing on the impact of layoffs and recessions on health has provided no evidence that the health of the average American deteriorates as a result of acquiring unhealthy, stress-induced habits.

    'While there is evidence from animal, preclinical and clinical studies that stress leads to overeating and excessive drinking to self-medicate, economic research on stress suggests substantial heterogeneity,' write the authors. In other words, losing one's job can be more or less stressful for different people and different bodies cope differently with stress-induced behavior.

    But Yale's William T. Gallo, Padmaja Ayyagari, Jason M. Fletcher and Jody L. Sindelar, and Partha Deb, from the City University of New York, found that layoffs among older workers tend to harm the health of those with a pre-existing unhealthy fondness for food and drink.

    Across all age groups, widespread loss of employer-provided health coverage is another way in which this recession is eroding the health of laid-off Americans, as many decide to 'go without treatment or tests,' the Journal reports.

    除了侵蝕美國人的收入之外，衰退是否還侵蝕了他們的健康？

    耶魯大學健康經濟學家最近領導的一項研究顯示，對一些人來講，的確是這樣。這項研究發現，失去工作會讓胖人更胖，讓飲酒者成為醉鬼。

    這項研究重點關注50歲以上的工人，這個年齡組的人一直是最近幾十年來裁員的主要承受者，而且對他們而言，暴飲暴食更可能產生嚴重的健康后果。

    結果顯示，在這組人中，貪吃者在失業期間的體重的平均增幅相當于一個身高5英尺10英寸、體重180磅的人增加了7磅。同樣，經常飲酒者在失業并重新找到工作前每天的飲酒量平均增加了一倍。

    研究報告的作者解釋說，失業不一定會讓人貪杯或是大吃薯片。有時，失業減少了本來會投在酒精或垃圾食品上的收入，或是讓他們有了更多體育鍛煉和戶外活動的時間，從而讓他們變得更加健康。

    事實上，關注失業和衰退對健康影響的研究沒有提供任何證據表明，美國人的平均健康狀況隨著染上不健康的、因壓力誘發的習慣而惡化了。

    作者寫道，雖然對動物、臨床前和臨床階段的研究提供了證據，表明壓力會導致暴飲暴食和自我用藥，但對壓力的經濟研究顯示表明其中的差別很大。換言之，失去工作對不同人群而言產生的壓力或大或小，不同人體對壓力誘導行為的反應也是不一樣的。

    但是耶魯大學的蓋洛（William T. Gallo）、阿耶加里（Padmaja Ayyagari）、弗萊徹（Jason M. Fletcher）和辛德拉（Jody L. Sindelar）,以及紐約市立大學的德布（Partha Deb）發現，被解雇的年紀較大的員工，如果原來就存在不良飲食習慣，他們的健康受影響的機會更大。

    據《華爾街日報》報道，在所有年齡組中，喪失雇主提供的健康保險是衰退侵蝕失業美國人健康的另一種方式，因為許多人都決定不接受治療或檢查。