I know I know this, but this is still an alarming chart:
This is saying that, as of 2016, over 36% of Americans were considered to be obese. In Canada, the number was just under 30%. And in the UK, it was just under 28%, which is the highest rate in Europe.
We often talk about the health benefits of living in a walkable community. And there's lots of research to back up that this is in fact the case: obesity rates tend to be inversely correlated with higher prevalences of active transportation (walking, cycling, and so on).
But we also can't ignore diet. And here's what has happened in the UK, as well as in other Western countries:
An increased reliance on cheap, ultra-processed food, which accounts for 57 per cent of what Britons eat according to a 2019 study conducted by researchers at the University of São Paulo, suggests that the health crisis is unlikely to change anytime soon without intervention, argue campaigners.
It can be hard to eat healthy, especially if you don't have a lot of money and you live a busy life. But in my view, we need to change the course of this graph. And two very good places to start looking would be (1) our built environment and (2) the Japanese diet.
Actually, now that I think of it, Japanese cities would be a good place to look as well.
Chart: FT
