Citation
Popkin, Barry M. (2019). Rural Areas Drive Increases in Global Obesity.
Nature, 569(7755), 200-201.
Abstract
Urbanization has been linked to increased overweight and obesity levels across populations1. However, evidence for this association has been based mainly on calculations of the body mass index (BMI) — the most frequently used tool for measuring overweight and obesity — at the time of study. The dynamics of BMI change in urban and rural areas have not been investigated separately. Writing in Nature, the members of the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration2 challenge the idea that general BMI trends are mainly a result of urbanization. The global problem of overweight and obesity has been seen chiefly as an urban issue, partly because access to food services is much greater and easier in cities than in rural areas. City dwellers have an array of options for purchasing highly processed foods and beverages, which are high in salt, saturated fat and sugar, and which are often termed ‘ultra-processed obesogenic foods’. Many low-income communities in urban areas consume predominantly ultra-processed foods and beverages sold at fast-food and small retail outlets, often because they live in so-called ‘food deserts’ — low-income areas where these are the only available foods. Rural areas, on the other hand, have been seen as a different type of food desert, where people mainly consume produce from their own farms and gardens, and have less access to ultra-processed and packaged food.
URL
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/d41586-019-01182-xReference Type
Journal Article
Year Published
2019
Journal Title
Nature
Author(s)
Popkin, Barry M.
ORCiD
Popkin - 0000-0001-9495-9324
