| Report: Homeless Lifestyle Healthier Than Most |
DETROIT, MI - An upcoming report commissioned by the Health and Human Services Department ranks the lifestyle of the homeless among the healthiest in America. The report -
to be released early next week - ranked several demographic groups based on diet, exercise, and recreational activities, and included data gathered from across the nation. While maintaining
an apparent low quality of life, the homeless scored surprisingly well in each category of study.
"It was a startling conclusion at first." admitted Dr. Herman
Pinskiller, co-author of the report and Executive Director of the Nutrition Literacy Project. "But when you analyze the data, the homeless lifestyle has some positive influences to good health. For
instance, they limit their calorie intake to manageable levels, they get plenty of fresh air, along with quality aerobic exercise from carrying packs or pushing heavy carts. These are excellent lifestyle
practices that the average American tends to avoid."
The report has already drawn criticism from both sides of the homelessness issue, neither side eager to proclaim benefits of the lifestyle. "There's obviously alcohol and drug abuse to consider, as
well as too much exposure to the sun." says Myron Kleptch, anti-homeless activist and Executive Director of the Take Back Our Streets Project. "And breathing all those car exhaust fumes while holding that
little sign at the end of the freeway ramp can't be healthy either."
Homeless advocacy groups stop short of pronouncing the lifestyle as healthy, but are quick to dispel the notion of widespread alcohol and drug abuse as bigotry. "People just assume that the homeless have
some dependency problem, but that's just ignorant stereotyping." says Anita Manbadd, Founder of The Homeless Support Syndicate, located in Beverly Hills. "People like that probably want to start calling them 'bums' again."
When asked if he was surprised that criticism was coming from opposing groups, Pinskiller replied: "No, not at all. Both sides want the same thing - to get those pesky, smelly beggars off the street."
© 2007 - The Daily Redundancy
