Income inequalities in unhealthy life styles in England and Spain

- We examine the pattern of income-related inequalities in unhealthy lifestyles.
- We examine data from England and Spain in the last two and three decades respectively.
- We find evidence of resilient income-related inequalities in obesity and tobacco.
- Trends in income inequalities in alcohol consumption seem to benefit the poor.
- Trends in inequality estimates vary by gender and age, and appear to be unaffected to different corrections for robustness.

Health inequalities in developed societies are persistent. Arguably, the rising inequalities in unhealthy lifestyles might underpin these inequality patterns, yet supportive empirical evidence is scarce. We examine the patterns of inequality in unhealthy lifestyles in England and Spain, two countries that exhibit rising obesity levels with a high prevalence of smoking and alcohol use. This study is unique in that it draws from health survey data spanning over a period in which major contextual and policy changes have taken place. We document persistent income-related inequalities in obesity and smoking; both unhealthy lifestyles appear to be disproportionately concentrated among the relatively poor in recent decades. In contrast, alcohol use appears to be concentrated among richer individuals in both periods and countries examined.