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Thanks for your thoughtful and informed post, Vanessa.

Supporting your points is an ecological study of obesity and income inequality published in the British Medical Journal (Pickett,  Kelly, et. al, 2005), entitled “Wider income gaps, wider waistbands”

In this study, which adjusted for gross national per capita income, income inequality was positively correlated with the percentage of obese men, diabetes mortality rates, and average calories consumed per capita.

The authors concluded that obesity, diabetes mortality, and calorie consumption were associated with income inequality in developed countries, and state that increased nutritional problems may be a consequence of the psychosocial impact of living in a more hierarchical society.

The authors add that “income inequality has been associated with numerous negative health and psychosocial outcomes, such as lower life expectancy, higher homicide rates, and lower self rated health. The psychosocial stress of life near the bottom of a steeply hierarchical society is a suggested explanation for these associations.”

Chris Palmedo, Editor
communityhealthpriorities.org

Two definitive indicators of health that have not been directly measured by the CDC are stress and economic inequalities.  While the statical analysis of health reports the percentage of individuals with medical insurance, access to medical services, and the prevalence of chronic disease, these outcomes are strongly correlated to stress and financial disparities.  Reported by Smith in Healthy Bodies and Thick Wallets: The
Dual Relation Between Health and
Economic Status, as wealth increases, so does ones overall health. Correlated indicators support the results highlighting the CDC findings for Huntington, and the mayor’s response to “economic challenges”.  In addition to these challenges, there is the concern with stress and its’ physiological influence resulting in increased visceral tissue, thus influencing weight gain and obesity rates. This correlation, as reported by Dr. Wheeler during a lecture on Stress and Coping mechanisms, can be associated with economic challenges. 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9629234
http://www.soc.upenn.edu/courses/2003/spring/soc796_hpkohler/readings/smit99h.pdf