How are populations changing? (pg 158-161)

How are populations changing?

Our lifestyles have drastically changed since 1975. How?

• The global food market has increased in size

• Our lifestyles have become more sedentary

How has our lifestyles changed in terms of physical activity?

Our lifestyles have become easier and quicker to manage

• Reliable transport options like cars mean that people can travel long distances without having to do any exercise (walking or biking) so people are less physically active

• There are now more sedentary jobs than before

• Children spend more time looking at screens (video games) rather than playing inside

How have our diets changed?

• Obesity rates have skyrocketed in the past years

  • Developed countries hahve more secure food supply chains (less likely to face famine)

  • More processed and ultra processed food in supermarkets and restaurants. High in saturated fats, sugar and salt → weight gain (even leading to obesity) and malnutrition

Malnutrition

Bad health due to eating too little food or too little of the foods that contribute to good health

What are the consequences of becoming obese?

• May lead to type 2 diabetes and heart disease

• Then leads to an increase demand on healthcare services as more people need to be treated which can be very costly.

  • For example in the UK the economic cost of obesity is estimated at 27 billion pounds and by 2050 it is estimated to reach 49.9 billion pounds per year

How can we avoid becoming obese and mantain a healthy life?

Following a balanced diet of nutritious foods like fresh fruit and vegetables, proteins and carbohydrates, along with exercise

Why are obesity rates in Korea or Spain lower than many other countries?

• Spain follows the ‘Mediterranean diet’ which is full of fresh fruit and vegetables, proteins and carbs. Cooking with olive oil

• Korea’s diet is filled with fresh fish and a variety of vegetables.

Why are obesity rates in the USA so high?

• Fast food: much larger portions, processed or ultraprocessed foods, lack of vegetables and fruit

  • For example it is much healthier to eat and apple than it is to drink an apple smoothie → less fibre, higher concentration of sugar, easily and rapidly digested

• Cities lack sidewalks and people travel more by car. Contributes to a sedentary lifestyle.

  • This is because there is poor public transport (dangerous bc of crime and slow); most people own their own cars

• Sedentary lifestyles

• Lack of government intervention

  • For example government should have rigid regulations regarding school catine food so that it is nutritious and balanced

What does ‘longevity’ mean?

What is the pattern we are seeing nowadays about country’s longetivity?

Life expectancy

There is a global pattern of countries experiencing a growth of older people within their populations

Life expectancy

the average period that a person may expect to live

Why are we seeing an increased life expectancy? 

Standards of living have increased, such as better healthcare

If life expectancy is increasing, what is decreasing? + definiton

Mortality rates

The number of deaths in a given time or place

Link to SDGs: in general good, but notably bad in Sub-Saharan Africa. SDGs 1 and 2 (poverty and hunger) have progressed little or have reversed in some areas. Climate action is one of the best performing

How have fertility rates changed? Why is this happening? + definition

Fertility rates are falling as people have fewer children. The global average has halved over the past 50 years

The average number of children that would be born to a woman over her lifetime

These factors (higher life expectancy + lower mortality rates, lower fertility rats) will have a big impact on all sectors of our society

What is the impact of having high life expectancy?

• Increased pressure on public services such as health and social care, housing and transport, to support the elderly

• Families might have to reduce their working hours (or give up work) to care for elderly relatives. This means people of working age cannot contribute to the economy

• Increased costs associated with caring for the elderly, including pensions, for both governments (to support public services) and individual famillies.