TV

Eat right, exercise, don't smoke, inherit good genes and, conventional wisdom dictates, you gain the best measure of protection against illness.

Not so fast, argues a new PBS series.

Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick? airing on four consecutive Thursdays beginning tonight, explores the idea that work, race, economic status and neighborhood conditions may affect a person's health as much or more than habits or genetics.

Looking at communities in California, Washington, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Arizona and other states, the series examines why America ranks as the world's wealthiest nation and yet is 30th in life expectancy and 31st in infant mortality.

Among the intriguing questions Unnatural Causes probes: Why do poor Mexican immigrants see their health erode the longer they stay in America? Why do poor smokers develop lung cancer more often than rich smokers? Why are some black and American Indian populations less likely to reach 65 than people from Bangladesh or Ghana?

Improved housing, higher wages and more control on the job foster health as much as quitting smoking or eating well, according to a Harvard University epidemiologist quoted in the series. In other words, the show argues that social policy may be crucial to a citizenry's physical well-being.

The first episode, airing tonight at 9 and titled "In Sickness and in Wealth," looks at the link between health and wealth through the lives of Louisville, Ky., residents including a CEO, lab supervisor, janitor and welfare mother.

The series' subsequent episodes continue the investigation in other cities and present what "Unnatural Causes" deems "innovative initiatives for health equity."