Low Carbon Healthy Lifestyles: Goals and challenges shared between health promotion and environmental sustainability.

 The science behind the association between health and climate change is building and becoming mainstream. A few years ago a mini-series within the Lancet was dedicated to these issues (Haines et al., 2009). Prof Anthony McMichael, in his recent review (McMichael, 2013), outlines a concept that human-induced change on a global scale has many risks for health of the world’s population. Climate change is one of several examples of these global changes, others being; epidemics of new strains of influenza virus, a decline in seafood stocks, shortages of fresh water and food security (McMichael, 2013).

From a much more local perspective, in the UK, West Midlands Public Health Observatory have calculated the health impacts on the population of the West Midlands of weather events from projected climate change until the end of the century (May, Baiardi, Kara, Raichand, & Eshareturi, 2010). For the Northwest of England, we looked at this from a different angle; looking at disciplines in health (eg. respiratory, cardiovascular, mental wellbeing) and how these may be affected by climate change events (Bates, Chadborn, Jones, & McVeigh, 2011). Partly, the aim of arranging these impacts around the health issue, rather than the climate event, was to gain interest of health professionals and get information across to them.

Sustainable health leaders are emphasising the co-benefits to health of taking action on climate change (mitigation). Cycling rather than driving the car to the shops improves fitness and decreases carbon-footprint. Growing your own vegetables may improve diet and may improve mental wellbeing through time in greenspace; also it can reduce foodmiles and carbon footprint of fertilisers.

A recent newspaper article described how sustainability could learn vital lessons from the experience of health promotion over the years:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sustainable-business/communicating-sustainability-behaviour-change-public-health?CMP=twt_gu

Steven Johnson makes a key point; that health promotion has learnt to focus on inequality. Without this focus, well-meaning interventions can exacerbate inequality; the better-off are more able to take advantage of the campaign, and thus improve their health. This is an argument against mass messages, eg TV adverts. Thus advocacy is best at the local level, aiming to reach those suffering from the worst of austerity measures and indifferent consumerism.

Community-based activities are suited to the local context and may be the best way of promoting health and sustainability. I have been studying children’s views of health and climate change using examples of activities that give co-benefits – we coined the term ‘Low Carbon Healthy Lifestyles’(Neil Chadborn, Springett, Gavin, & Dewar, 2011). Young children are often enthusiastic about activities such as cycling and growing vegetables, and show some awareness of the benefits to both health and the environment (NH Chadborn, Gavin, Springett, & Robinson, 2012). Many local organisations facilitate these projects, but often promote either health or environmental benefits. I propose that making explicit links between health and climate change may be beneficial to engaging the public with these activities. Also the shared agenda may strengthen networking between organisations and with schools. I’ll continue this topic in my next blog article.

In this blog I have shown how climate change and health are inextricably linked. While these are global issues, and there is a place for international legislation, we can all take action in our own communities. I believe it’s useful to communicate this explicitly by using phrases such as ‘Low Carbon Healthy Lifestyles’. 

Bates, G., Chadborn, N., Jones, L., & McVeigh, J. (2011). Impact of climate change upon health and health inequalities in the north west of England. Liverpool.

Chadborn, Neil, Springett, J., Gavin, N., & Dewar, S. (2011). Promoting Low Carbon Healthy Lifestyles as new opportunities to tackle obesity and health inequalities. Liverpool.

Chadborn, NH, Gavin, N., Springett, J., & Robinson, J. (2012). “Cycling–exercise or trying to stop pollution”: methods to explore children’s agency in health and climate change. Local Environment, 18(3), 271–288.

Haines, A., McMichael, A. J., Smith, K. R., Roberts, I., Woodcock, J., Markandya, A., Armstrong, B. G., et al. (2009). Public health benefits of strategies to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions: overview and implications for policy makers. Lancet, 374(9707), 2104–14. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(09)61759-1

May, E., Baiardi, L., Kara, E., Raichand, S., & Eshareturi, C. (2010). Health Effects of Climate Change in the West Midlands: Technical Report. Birmingham.

McMichael, A. J. (2013). Globalization, Climate Change, and Human Health. New England Journal of Medicine, 368, 1335–43.