The More Small Businesses, the Better Our Health!

A recent article in the online journal Your Own Health and Fitness cites a fascinating study carried out by sociologists at Baylor University.  They discovered a strong positive link between robust small-business economies and  citizens’ general health, evidenced e.g. by their longevity and low rates of obesity and diabetes.

Here’s a snapshot of the research results:

“If you live in a county where the economy has lots of small businesses, you’re less likely to die at any given age, less likely to be obese, and less likely to be diabetic. And it’s not just small business that’s associated with lower risks of death and disease.

•                Greater ethnic diversity is associated with better health.

•                Lower income inequality is associated with better health.

•                Having a greater number of professional and creative people is associated with better health.

What was associated with worse health?

•                The number of big box stores and large retailers

•                The percentage of people without medical insurance.”

Read the whole article here.  (It starts with an equally fascinating report on genetic reasons for the absence of cancer among certain Ecuadorian indigenous peoples.  The small-business-and-health report starts about halfway down the page.)