Elizabeth Barnett Country Quotations

When you look at national figures you get one picture, and you get another when you look at geographic variation. The places in the country where we have very high rates of deaths from heart disease are places that have historically experienced economic underdevelopment. ... There have been a lack of opportunities for people to experience healthy living compared to other areas.

Wealth in an area is sometimes exported to other parts of the country. Racial and ethnic disparities are not due to genetics or inborn differences in people of different races, but rather that they reflect social inequalities. Similarly, geographic disparities that we see across the country are not due to climate but reflect the social environment and local economies.