Lifestyle-related diseases and individual responsibility through the prism of solidarity

The concept of lifestyle-related diseases and individual responsibility for health has played an important role in debates on the fair allocation of increasingly scarce health-care resources. In this article, we examine this discussion through the prism of solidarity. Based on an understanding of solidarity as shared practices reflecting a collective commitment to carry ‘costs’ (financial, social, emotional or otherwise) to assist others, we analyse frequent arguments in the debate and, in particular, the tool of risk-stratification. We then offer a solidarity-based approach to understanding risk in the context of lifestyle-related diseases, and draw a number of conclusions on how health policy informed by solidarity should approach priority setting in health care.