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Green spaces: An invaluable resource for delivering sustainable urban health
- Source: UN Chronicle, Volume 53, Issue 3, Apr 2016, p. 37 - 39
- French
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- 11 Apr 2016
Abstract
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and climate change are two defining challenges of the twenty-first century, as each poses a significant threat to health and sustainable development. NCDs, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory diseases, diabetes, and mental and neurological disorders, are currently responsible for 68 per cent of global mortality, while climate change is projected to cause several hundred thousand deaths annually by 2030. Risk factors for NCDs include exposure to air pollution and physical inactivity. Eighty-eight per cent of urban populations are exposed to levels of outdoor air pollution that exceed World Health Organization (WHO) Air Quality Guidelines, and 3.7 million deaths globally were attributable to ambient air pollution in 2012. Furthermore, urbanization leads to changes in occupation and ways of life associated with lower levels of physical activity and higher automobile use. WHO attributes 3.2 million deaths annually to physical inactivity and 1.3 million to road traffic injuries.
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