The building blocks of health

A home that feels safe and is a stable space that provides for the needs of ourselves and our families can make a real difference in our lives. If a home is overcrowded, or too costly in terms of rent or heating, or is isolated from where we need to be for work, education or our social connections, this puts a strain on our mental and physical health.

A poor diet can be very bad for your health, but not everyone has the same opportunity to access affordable healthy food. Healthy food can often be more expensive or more difficult to source depending on where you live. Unhealthy food is often promoted or advertised by businesses more than healthy food, so we often see this type of food more than others and this impacts on what we choose to eat.

We know that people with stronger social connections have healthier happier lives and that isolation and loneliness is bad for mental health. With connections, people can draw on support from others when they need help, and take part in social activities. If people feel disconnected from their local area, they may not feel valued or included. Social networks and local connections can also enable people to feel a sense of shared ownership and an element of control over what is happening locally, which is positive for health.

Being able to travel and access what you need for your day to day activities is a really important part of being able to lead a healthy life. This includes:

• School
• Work
• Social connections
• Shopping

It is important that the local transport system is safe, reliable and efficient, and enables walking and cycling as well as providing affordable, accessible and regular public transport options. The harmful impact of transport on the environment should be minimised. Without these factors in place, people are not able to participate fully in society, which impacts on health.

We know that education is a strong predictor of health. Education and skills development enables people to access good work, which can help support income and standards of living. It helps embed feelings of empowerment and the ability to problem solve and continue life-long learning. These abilities help us develop healthy habits and increase our opportunities to manage challenges in life.

Being in work can be good for health. Employment provides people with income which can support standards of living and can engender a sense of stability and security. It also enables people to have social connections, a sense of worth and of contributing to society and a feeling of fulfilment.

All these elements have an influence on physical and mental health but it is important that work is of good quality and employment is fair.  Feeling insecure about employment and income can be hugely stressful, which takes its toll on health. Doing work that is hazardous and unsafe without appropriate safeguards poses risks to physical and mental health. Similarly, working in a job of poor quality, for example with no opportunity for progression or autonomy, can be challenging and bad for health. 

Working in secure roles that pay and treat people fairly and with dignity can enable people to thrive.

There is no doubt that poverty is bad for health. Living on a low income is disempowering in many ways, for example:

• A sense of a lack of control over your life
• An inability to participate fully in society or plan for the future
• Difficulty adopting healthy behaviours or avoiding unhealthy ones

People also experience stress when constantly trying to make ends meet, and a lack of ‘mental bandwidth’ to think about or plan things that could improve their health or lives more generally.

Where we live, what is available locally and how our environment influences our activities has an important impact on health. For example, people may not cycle or use green spaces for leisure or physical activity if they do not think it is safe.

Similarly, our environment may make it less likely that we will use local amenities or take part in social activity if it is too difficult or unsafe to travel there. Our surroundings may also influence whether businesses and employers want to invest in the area and enable economic development, and this also impacts on health.