On the 31st of August, 1854, an outbreak of cholera struck the Soho district of London. At the time of the outbreak, the prevailing theory was that cholera and other infectious diseases were spread by ‘bad air’. Dr. John Snow, a local physician, was sceptical of this theory and, with the help of a local minister, found sufficient evidence that cholera was a water-borne disease to convince local officials to disable the water pump at the heart of the outbreak.
In subsequent years, Snow went on to map the residence of each person who was infected with cholera in the 1854 Soho outbreak. The key insight from his map was that disease – and more generally health – has a spatial dimension. In the case of Snow’s map, this spatial information provided some clue as to the cause of the health condition. In many contexts, however, simply seeing geographical variations in health-related indicators can be of interest, especially to public policy makers.
Each of the maps below represents the local statistical areas that correspond to the suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. As can be seen from the maps, certain health-related indicators vary dramatically across suburbs. Notice in particular the greater rates of physical inactivity and psychological distress in the inner western and outer south-eastern suburbs. Also note that smoking rates appear to increase with distance from the Melbourne CBD.
Source:
- Social Health Atlas of Australia, 2010 – Statistical local area data
In an earlier post, I showed some of the macro trends associated with obesity in the USA. In particular, I showed how increases in the price of fruit and vegetables relative to the price of soda and sugar were associated with rises in BMI and energy intake. In this post, I take a more focused look at the issue of obesity in the USA.
The graph below shows how the maximum serving size of several products offered by McDonalds and Burger King has changed over time. What is particularly noteworthy is that the amount of soda currently served to children at McDonalds is larger than the largest serving size available in the 1950s. It is also apparent that since the 1950s, the maximum serving sizes available for soda, French fries, and hamburgers have increased dramatically. Food for thought!
Sources:
- National Center for Health Statistics – Prevalence of overweight, obesity and extreme obesity among adults: Table 2
- Young & Nestle (2003) – Expanding portion sizes in the US marketplace: Implications for nutrition counseling: Table 2
- Young & Nestle (2007) – Portion sizes and obesity: Responses of fast-food companies: Table 1
This graph plots the growing proportion of Americans who are classified as being overweight or obese. This upward (or outward!) trend coincides with increases in both daily energy intake and the relative price of fruit and vegetables.
Sources:
- National Center for Health Statistics – Prevalence of overweight, obesity and extreme obesity among adults: Table 2
- Centers for Disease Prevention and Control – Health, United States, 2009: Table 70
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics – Consumer price index: All urban consumers