Changing behaviour: an essential component of tackling health inequalities.

Key messages The 2020 Marmot Review showed that health inequalities in England have widened since 2010 The 2020 Review assessed progress in five of the original six priority areas for tackling the social causes of health inequalities that were described in the 2010 Marmot review. Ill health prevention was omitted from the review because it has received greater policy focus. However, policy focus is not synonymous with effective policy action Behavioural causes of ill health and inequality - tobacco use, unhealthy diet, alcohol consumption, and physical inactivity – share some but not all the same drivers as the social causes. Effectively tackling health inequalities requires addressing both behavioural and social causes in paralle