Claiming benefits ‘improves health’
By politics.co.uk staff
Unemployment benefits can help reduce the negative health-related behaviours normally associated with being out of work, research claims.
A study published in journal BMC Public Health today found those receiving benefits were less likely to increase the amount they drink or change their weight whilst unemployed.
Scientists from Cambridge University and Stanford University School of Medicine examined the impact of unemployment on tobacco smoking, use of alcohol and fluctuations in body weight among re-employed workers.
They identified 3,451 healthy workers falling into three groups: those who were employed continuously over a given time period and those who experienced unemployment with and without unemployment benefits.
Their study then investigated the persistence of changes in health behaviour after re-employment.
Researchers found that after experiencing unemployment, those who didn’t receive benefits drank more alcohol and lost more body weight, which they claim may represent a stress reaction.
“Our results indicate that those who experience periods of unemployment are more vulnerable and at a higher risk of adopting potentially unhealthy behaviours than the continuously employed,” the authors write.
“Our findings may suggest that higher levels of stress exist among those who experience unemployment without compensation”.
The authors suggest that receiving benefits reduces both the economic and the psychological stress associated with loss of income and reinforces the perception of support.
