Urbanisation and the global epidemic of chronic diseases
We are in the midst of a global epidemic of chronic diseases – diabetes, heart disease, cancers and respiratory disease are on the rise across the world. Simultaneously, the world is rapidly urbanising – over half the world’s population now lives in urban settings. The Conversation article Rethinking how we live to stop the chronic diseases epidemic explores how urbanisation and urban living, an acknowledged driver of chronic disease, must become a stage for good health rather than its opposite.