Priority Project B: The effect of urbanization on risk factors for noncommunicable diseases

Swelling cities

Urbanization is now a truly global phenomenon, with a stream of rural-urban migration being seen in the developing world. The percentage of the world's population residing in urban areas increased from 38% in 1975 to 47% by 2002. Over three billion people now live in towns and cities. The notion that better opportunities for health and other lifestyle improvements can always be attained in an urban setting is under challenge.

Driven by globalization, many cities are today characterized by rapid urbanization, metropolitan expansion, increased environmental impact and deeper inequity. Cities and municipalities are often not equipped to cope with the rate of change and its social, political and environmental ramifications.

The role of inequitable and unsustainable urban settings in promoting stress and other behavioral and environmental risks for disease is not well understood. Hence, urbanization and its impact on human health in relation to chronic noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) needs to be more closely examined.

  Chronic NCDs - global burden rising

The rising global burden of disease is mainly due to noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) – primarily cardiovascular diseases, cancer, chronic respiratory disease, diabetes and hypertension. They are now responsible for 60% of deaths worldwide and 48% of the burden of disease. NCDs are related to lifestyle as well as to the physical and social environment – all of which are changing rapidly, especially in fast-urbanizing developing countries. In fact, the change to high-fat, low-nutrient fast food diets and sedentary lifestyles is happening much more quickly in these countries than was the case in the developed countries, bringing a double burden of communicable diseases and NCDs.

The extent to which these risk factors are linked to urban living and the urban environment needs to be better understood.

Background in Depth