Education versus Wellness: Our Verdict

For years we have been taught that reducing stress and participating in a regular exercise regiment will help to improve the overall health and emotional well-being of an individual. But just how big of an impact does education make in this particular equation? This topic was recently brought to the forefront when one of our Benefit Advisors Specialists, Mrs. Stase' M. Fink, CSA, proudly bragged that her 18-year-old son, Nolan Walker, was granted acceptance into the University of Florida, after successfully completing community college in a year's time. While our office celebrated in the success of Stase' and her son -- and the amazing opportunity that now lay before him -- we couldn't help but ponder this very question: Just how much does education impact an individual's wellness?

For almost 25 years, our specialists have been advising consumers on current health and wellness trends through insurance consultation and implementation. Our experience alone has implied that through education, comes an increased state of health and wellness. So after doing a little internet browsing and research on the correlation between wellness and education, I think it's safe to say our experience has proven true...

According to a March 2007 Policy Brief released by the National Poverty Center at the University of Michigan (http://www.npc.umich.edu/), a decrease in education contributes to a decrease in overall health, while an increase in education contributes to an increase in overall health and well-being. A summary of the findings prepared from a paper by David M. Cutler of Harvard University and Adriana Lleras-Muney of Princeton University are as follows:

• Better educated people have lower morbidity rates from the most common acute and chronic diseases, independent of basic demographic and labor market factors.

• Life expectancy is increasing for everyone in the United States, yet differences in life expectancy have grown over time between those with and without a college education.

• Health behaviors alone cannot account for health status differences between those who are less educated and those who have more years of education.

• The mechanisms by which education influences health are complex and are likely to include (but are not limited to) interrelationships between demographic and family background indicators, effects of poor health in childhood, greater resources associated with higher levels of education, a learned appreciation for the importance of good health behaviors, and one’s social networks.

To read the complete findings of the study, please visit the National Poverty Center's Web site.

Similarly, a 1995 Abstract published in the American Sociological Review, states, "The positive association between education and health is well established, but explanations for this association are not. Our explanations fall into three categories: (1) work and economic conditions, (2) social-psychological resources, and (3) health lifestyle. We replicate analyses with two samples, cross-sectionally and over time, using two health measures (self-reported health and physical functioning). The first data set comes from a national probability sample of U.S. households in which respondents were interviewed by telephone in 1990 (2,031 respondents, ages 18 to 90). The second data set comes from a national probability sample of U.S. households in which respondents ages 20 to 64 were interviewed by telephone first in 1979 (3,025 respondents), and then again in 1980 (2,436 respondents). Results demonstrate a positive association between education and health and help explain why the association exists. (1) Compared to the poorly educated, well educated respondents are less likely to be unemployed, are more likely to work full-time, to have fulfilling, subjectively rewarding jobs, high incomes, and low economic hardship. Full-time work, fulfilling work, high income, and low economic hardship in turn significantly improve health in all analyses. (2) The well educated report a greater sense of control over their lives and their health, and they have higher levels of social support. The sense of control, and to a lesser extent support, are associated with good health. (3) The well educated are less likely to smoke, are more likely to exercise, to get health check-ups, and to drink moderately, all of which, except check-ups, are associated with good health. We conclude that high educational attainment improves health directly, and it improves health indirectly through work and economic conditions, social-psychological resources, and health lifestyle. "

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And once again, we would like to extend congratulations to Stase' Fink and her son, Nolan. Best of Luck in your future endeavors!