Think You’re Wealthy? Then You’re More Likely to Be Healthy

A person’s assessment of his own wealth and power can contribute to his health, even if that assessment is not necessarily accurate.

A study by a professor at UC San Francisco showed that better health is linked not only to income or education, but to the perception that a person is higher in the social hierarchy.

“Where you think you stand on the social ladder is more powerful than where you actually are,” psychiatry professor Nancy Adler said. “For example, if you have two stay-at-home moms with the same income and education, the one that ranks herself higher in the hierarchy ladder reflects better health.”

Researchers studied a sample of 157 healthy white women aged 30-46 and with at least a high school education. The women completed a survey that asked them to rate their own socioeconomic status.

Participants also were evaluated for psychological indicators, pessimism, chronic stress levels, sleep patterns and fat distribution.

Women who placed themselves higher on the social ladder reported better physical health, fewer problems falling asleep at night, lower resting heart rates and less abdominal fat.

When there is repeated stress, the body has greater exposure to a hormone called cortisol--which may play a role in the development of abdominal fat.

“We are trying to understand the pathway on how a psychological problem translates into a biological one,” Adler said.