Roshan Bastani, director of UCLA Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Equity, and other experts discuss the growing gap between rich and poor Americans, not just in income, but in nutrition, longevity and healthy behaviors, at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, July 29. Presented by Zócalo Public Square and the California Wellness Foundation, "Is Healthy Living Only for the Rich?" takes place in downtown L.A. at the Museum of Contemporary Art, 250 S. Grand Avenue. The event is free and open to the public.
Americans are eating healthier, smoking less, exercising more and living longer than ever before – but only if they can afford it. The poorest counties in the country boast the highest rates of diabetes, and residents of the nation’s poorest states have the lowest life expectancies. Mental health, too, is connected to economics: Americans in poverty are twice as likely to report having been diagnosed with depression.
Joining Bastani are LaVonna B. Lewis, of the USC Price School of Public Policy; Tracie McMillan, author of “The American Way of Eating" (Scribner, 2012); and moderator Anna Gorman, senior correspondent of Kaiser Health News, in discussing why all Americans don’t have an equal opportunity when it comes to their health, and what can be done to level this playing field.
Learn more at the Zócalo Public Square website, where you'll also find these related “Up for Discussion” essays: Why Can’t We All Go to Fancy Yoga Classes?
