رشد اقتصادی و چاقی: رابطه جالب با مفاهیم جهانی

The prosperity of a country, commonly measured in terms of its annual per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP), has different relationships with population levels of body weight and happiness, as well as environmental impacts such as carbon emissions. The aim of this study was to examine these relationships and to try to find a level of GDP, which provides for sustainable economic activity, optimal happiness and healthy levels of mean body mass index (BMI). Spline regression analyses were conducted using national indices from 175 countries: GDP, adult BMI, mean happiness scores, and carbon footprint per capita for the year 2007. Results showed that GDP was positively related to BMI and happiness up to ∼$US3000 and ∼$5000 per capita respectively, with no significant relationships beyond these levels. GDP was also positively related to CO2 emissions with a recognised sustainable carbon footprint of less than 5 tonnes per capita occurring at a GDP of <$US15,000. These findings show that a GDP between $US5 and $15,000 is associated with greater population happiness and environmental stability. A mean BMI of 21–23 kg/m2, which minimises the prevalence of underweight and overweight in the population then helps to define an ideal position in relation to growth, which few countries appear to have obtained. Within a group of wealthy countries (GDP > $US30,000), those with lower income inequalities and more regulated (less liberal) market systems had lower mean BMIs.

We have previously proposed an ecological model for understanding obesity, which suggests that changes towards a more ‘obesogenic’ environment explain the rise of the obesity epidemic over the past three decades (Egger and Swinburn, 1997). While this concept is now widely accepted (Katan et al., 2009 and Sassi, 2009), there are clearly layers of environmental influence, which Rose (1992) referred to as the ‘causes of the cause’. The immediate or proximal environments,1 which influence changes in energy intake and physical activity levels, include the food environment, the built environment, and the entertainment environment – especially small screen technology. These food and activity environments can operate close to people in settings (such as homes, schools, supermarkets, neighbourhoods) or at more of a distance in sectors (such as food production, food marketing, transportation systems) (Swinburn et al., 1999). The next layers of environments, the medial drivers, are generally societal in nature.

Economic growth, under-and over-nutrition, and environmental sustainability are interlinked. Consumption-driven increases in GDP may be beneficial in the developing economies, but the detrimental impacts of the over-consumption they have created in wealthy countries are now becoming apparent. While specific policies can counter the obesity epidemic and high greenhouse gas emissions, new paradigms will be needed to influence the underlying economic and political structures, which are the ‘causes of the cause’ of over-consumption. A more controlled form of capitalism may need to be part of newer approaches to maximising sustainability, health and happiness in an increasingly developed world.