Well-being of poor Britons suffers

BRUSSELS, June 23 (UPI) -- There is a gap between low-income and wealthier Britons when it comes to emotional, physical and financial well-being, a survey indicates.

The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index consists of 55 individual items that collectively measure Britons' emotional, physical and financial well-being. Low-income Britons are defined as those reporting a monthly income of $2,227 or less.

Britons in the lowest income group are more likely than those in higher income groups to say they have ever been diagnosed with any of the chronic conditions the survey asks about, including high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, depression and cancer, Gallup officials say.

Low-income Britons are significantly more likely than their wealthier counterparts to say they smoke, while those in the highest-income group are much more likely to report they exercise regularly and eat five or more servings of fruits and vegetables four or more days a week.

All Britons have national health insurance coverage, but those with lower incomes are more likely to lack access to certain basics important to good health, such as having a personal doctor or having enough medicine for medicine than high-income Britons.

The index is based on telephone interviews conducted Jan. 2 to March 31 of 4,000 adults in Britain. It has a margin of error of 1.8 percentage points.

A similar analysis in the United States also finds lower income residents' well-being is much worse than that of those with higher incomes.