Can You Post: PBS Series

Hey Greg - Can we post. It's pretty much the same message that Mark has been stating. Should be an informative series.

Sheila


PBS: New show ....

http://www.post- gazette.com/ pg/08083/ 866747-42. stm
(PBS.org TV schedules: http://www.pbs. org Title: Unnatural Causes)

Eat right, exercise, don't smoke, inherit good genes and, conventional wisdom dictates, you gain the best measure of protection against illness.

Not so fast, argues a new PBS series.

"Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick?," airing on four consecutive Thursdays beginning this week, explores the idea that work, race, economic status and neighborhood conditions may affect a person's health as much or more than habits or genetics.

Looking at communities in several states including Pennsylvania , the series examines why America ranks as the world's wealthiest nation and yet is 30th in life expectancy and 31st in infant mortality.

Among the intriguing questions "Unnatural Causes" probes: Why do poor Mexican immigrants see their health erode the longer they stay in America ? Why do poor smokers develop lung cancer more often than rich smokers? Why are some black and American Indian populations less likely to reach 65 than people from Bangladesh or Ghana ?

Improved housing, higher wages and more control on the job foster health as much as quitting smoking or eating well, according to a Harvard University epidemiologist quoted in the series. In other words, social policy may be crucial to a citizenry's physical well-being.

The first episode, airing 10 p.m. Thursday on WQED and titled "In Sickness and in Wealth," looks at the link between health and wealth through the lives of Louisville, Ky., residents, including a CEO, a lab supervisor, a janitor and a welfare mother.

PBS Description: Episode title: In Sickness And In Wealth

Episode description: This is a story about health, but it's not about doctors or drugs. Set mostly in Louisville , Kentucky , it's a detective story out to solve the mystery of what's stalking and killing so many Americans before their time. The program uncovers the connections between healthy bodies and healthy bank accounts - and why residents of so many other nations, including many poorer countries, live longer and healthier lives. Solutions, evidence suggests, may lie not in more pills but in more equality.

Episode guide: The connections between healthy bodies and healthy bank accounts are uncovered.