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There has been enough discussion and analysis of the economic downturn to satisfy even the most ardent fan of recessions.

It has been widely acknowledged that this is a good one, among the best in living memory and possibly among the top three of all time.

While it has brought hardship to many, the recession has been a boon to journalists, many of whom are too young to have got their teeth into a really meaty economic crisis and have now had almost a year to practice on an 18 ounce T-bone of a specimen.

The coverage is of two basic kinds. The first focuses on what went wrong and is mainly concerned with apportioning blame to various irresponsible individuals in the financial sector. What makes this crisis different is that rather than just concentrate on, say, city wide-boys with enormous bonuses and fuel-guzzling sports cars, or on bosses invariably characterised as fat-cats, or on governments characterised as incompetent, corrupt or complacent, this time we have a full set of stooges and fall guys. Everyone is to blame – and not just in the City.

All of us played a part. If we didn’t set fiscal policy, run a bank or work in one, we were busy irresponsibly borrowing and rashly spending. This collective responsibility for the mess we find ourselves in is a very good thing capable of binding society together, closing divisions based on wealth, class and background and making everyone feel a heck of a lot better – if only about being in the same sinking boat.

The second kind of coverage concentrates on the dreadful consequences of the situation, which are to be seen everywhere. These are the stories of job losses, house repossessions, radical belt-tightening, rich made poor, poor made poorer, imminent cuts in public services and so on. The best and most dramatic consequences are the ones we haven’t yet experienced. This recession is a thriller, full of suspense. We’ve borrowed heavily to keep interest rates down and deferred the day of reckoning but for how long? There’s a chicken. It’s coming home to roost. It’s big and it’s pretty angry.

What is too often overlooked, though, is that the recession has some very positive health outcomes. Here are the top five.

1. Economic downturns have become much healthier. Previous crises were referred to as depressions, a term with profound medical connotations involving long-term courses of treatment and -- in severe cases -- institutionalisation. This one is a credit “crunch”, a much lighter, crisper term with overtones of muesli and other low fat foods that don’t taste particularly nice but do us all good in the long run.

2. Even people who find a diet of crunchy bad news unpalatable are eating less for financial reasons. An undernourished population is not the ideal solution to problems of obesity but every little helps.

3. People are starting to exercise more regularly. Queuing outside failing banks and job centres is a gentle way to start stretching muscles. Going on G20 protests can provide a more strenuous cardio-vascular workout. Running from creditors and bailiffs can help the individual achieve peak fitness.

4. Most people are a bit nicer when they want something. These days all of us want something.

5. Health professionals have plenty of time to prepare for the worst. During periods of normal economic activity, this involves preparing someone else for bad news. During recessions, it means preparing for the delayed impact of economic hardship on the public sector. The good medicine of countercyclical investment is running low and will soon be used up. Just as everybody else is starting to feel better, the NHS and those who work in it will start to suffer vague feelings of discomfort, followed by sharp stabbing pains in the wallet and finally a debilitating sense of complete and utter helplessness. At that point, the financial crisis will be over and things will be back to normal.

The next New@Networks will be sent out on 30 April.

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