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.

除了侵蚀美国人的收入之外，衰退是否还侵蚀了他们的健康？

耶鲁大学健康经济学家最近领导的一项研究显示，对一些人来讲，的确是这样。这项研究发现，失去工作会让胖人更胖，让饮酒者成为醉鬼。

这项研究重点关注50岁以上的工人，这个年龄组的人一直是最近几十年来裁员的主要承受者，而且对他们而言，暴饮暴食更可能产生严重的健康后果。

结果显示，在这组人中，贪吃者在失业期间的体重的平均增幅相当于一个身高5英尺10英寸、体重180磅的人增加了7磅。同样，经常饮酒者在失业并重新找到工作前每天的饮酒量平均增加了一倍。

研究报告的作者解释说，失业不一定会让人贪杯或是大吃薯片。有时，失业减少了本来会投在酒精或垃圾食品上的收入，或是让他们有了更多体育锻炼和户外活动的时间，从而让他们变得更加健康。

事实上，关注失业和衰退对健康影响的研究没有提供任何证据表明，美国人的平均健康状况随着染上不健康的、因压力诱发的习惯而恶化了。

作者写道，虽然对动物、临床前和临床阶段的研究提供了证据，表明压力会导致暴饮暴食和自我用药，但对压力的经济研究显示表明其中的差别很大。换言之，失去工作对不同人群而言产生的压力或大或小，不同人体对压力诱导行为的反应也是不一样的。

但是耶鲁大学的盖洛（William T. Gallo）、阿耶加里（Padmaja Ayyagari）、弗莱彻（Jason M. Fletcher）和辛德拉（Jody L. Sindelar）,以及纽约市立大学的德布（Partha Deb）发现，被解雇的年纪较大的员工，如果原来就存在不良饮食习惯，他们的健康受影响的机会更大。

据《华尔街日报》报道，在所有年龄组中，丧失雇主提供的健康保险是衰退侵蚀失业美国人健康的另一种方式，因为许多人都决定不接受治疗或检查。