Abstract
Health is certainly a major concern for many people. “As long as you’ve got your health…” is a common expression in many regions of Belgium. In this chapter, we first describe what we mean by “healthy” or “sick”. We then investigate who is healthier in Belgium and who is sicker. The results of our survey largely confirm what has already been found in other studies.
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Notes
- 1.
The main source of health data is the Gezondheidsenquête [Health Survey] which has been organised on a regular basis since 1997 (see https://his.wiv-isp.be/nl/SitePages/Introductiepagina.aspx). The 2013 Health Survey is the closest reference point for comparisons with our results.
- 2.
This detailed information is not included in the table. The same applies to the separate results for the remaining health dimensions.
- 3.
There is a comprehensive literature on the advantages and disadvantages of subjective health evaluations. In general, subjective measures—although far from perfect—are considered to have a predictive value for more objective conditions, even the chance of dying (e.g. see Idler and Benyamini 1997).
- 4.
- 5.
Although this idea has recently become popular through the work of Wilkinson and Pickett (2010), it is certainly not always confirmed by in-depth scientific research (O’Donnell et al. 2015).
- 6.
This result is also confirmed in other research; for example, see the figures in the report by MYRIA, Migration in figures and rights 2017 (https://www.myria.be/files/MIGRA2017_NL_AS.pdf).
- 7.
In Fig. 6.5, the category “industrialised countries” represents countries that belong to the OECD if they are not already included in one of the other categories.
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Capéau, B. et al. (2020). How Healthy Are We?. In: Well-being in Belgium. Economic Studies in Inequality, Social Exclusion and Well-Being. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-58509-9_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-58509-9_6
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