‘The Glasgow Effect’ is a term scientists came up with to investigate why Scotland – and in particular the areas around Glasgow – has a higher death rate than other parts of the United Kingdom. The ‘Glasgow Effect’ outlines the most probable causes that could cause this higher death rate. The report compared Glasgow with other deprived cities like Liverpool and Manchester.

This trend has been increasing over time and is found throughout all of the adult age groups – but especially that of the younger working age and is seen more within the people from a poorer social background, which is of course very concerning.

The death rates in Glasgow show that the leading cause  of mortality is  suicide, which when compared to Liverpool and Manchester, is almost 70% higher! The deaths linked to drugs and alcohol misuse is almost 50% higher in Glasgow . This is linked to my earlier post where I talk about Scottishness and Scottish culture. With the rise of binge drinking and party drugs in urban areas, the death rate has also risen. This could explain why he death rate is more predominant in the younger working class. Linked with a poor diet and lack of exercise, causing obesity, heart disease and diabetes. This Scottish Culture is killing us.

Scotland’s nickname within Europe is ‘The sick man of Europe’ which is quite shocking in itself. Does this mean that just because I am Scottish, I will get sick? That I will die earlier than young people elsewhere? The Scottish Culture and lifestyle plays a huge role in this young mortality, but it is indeed also related to our socio-economic status.

In order to ensure we live longer – we must make conscious changes to the way we live our life.

Are Scottish people ‘unhealthy’? A question posed to me in this mornings lecture. My immediate response was, perhaps we are unhealthy. But how is it possible to generalize with so many factors impacting on this decision. With factors ranging from education, to wealth to socio-economic factors.

When we think about the concept of ‘Scottishness’, We think of things like ‘Irn Bru’, ‘Haggis’ and deep fried … well – anything. When we look at this we can probably tell that Scottish people are not known to have the healthiest of diets. The Scottish Government has found that 28% of children are at risk of being ‘overweight’.

Also, compared to the rest of the UK and the rest of Europe – Scotland is deemed ‘less healthy’. This again could be because of our Scottish culture. But there are other factors influencing this too!

Hereditary health conditions – passed down through family genes – could be one such factor to this. Things such as diabetes, cancer and heart disease can run through a family’s blood. Combined with the typical ‘unhealthy’ diet and lack of exercise that us Scots tend to have – can amplify the severity and fatalities linked to these diseases. According to data publishes by the World Health Organisation – heart disease accounted for 9.66% of total deaths in France during 2014. The UK however, 17.21% of the total deaths were labelled to heart disease. Although the change is less that one percent, it is possible that this is down to the healthier diet that French people are known to have.

So although many cases of these diseases could be hereditary – I think it is fair to say that Scottish people could be labelled as ‘unhealthy’ due to the factors of a poorer diet, and a lack of exercise. However, in retrospect – It is my firm opinion that it would be unfair, and also uneducated to presume this when there are so many factors that influence this argument.

So my answer? It is my opinion that Scottish people could be considered ‘unhealthy’.