Abstract
SummaryThe Lancet Commission on Obesity (LCO), also known as the “syndemic commission,” states that radical changes are required to harness the common drivers of “obesity, undernutrition, and climate change.” Urban design, land use, and the built environment are few such drivers. Holding individuals responsible for obesity detracts from the obesogenic built environments. Pedestrian priority and dignity, wide pavements with tree canopies, water fountains with potable water, benches for the elderly at regular intervals, access to open‐green spaces within 0.5‐km radius and playgrounds in schools are required. Facilities for physical activity at worksite, prioritization of staircases and ramps in building construction, redistribution of land use, and access to quality, adequate capacity, comfortable, and well‐networked public transport, which are elderly and differently abled sensitive with universal design are some of the interventions that require urgent implementation and monitoring. An urban barometer consisting of valid relevant indicators aligned to the sustainable development goals (SDGs), UN‐Habitat‐3 and healthy cities, should be considered a basic human right and ought to be mounted for purposes of surveillance and monitoring. A “Framework Convention on Built Environment and Physical Activity” needs to be taken up by WHO and the UN for uptake and implementation by member countries.
Highlights
The intermeshed trap of obesity, under-nutrition, and climate change, which constitutes the Global Syndemic according to Swinburn et al, is an existential threat to the future of human and planetary health.[1]
There is already an unsustainable high density and mixed land use that needs decongestion for health because of specific reasons described in the relevant section
Global warming is impacting the entire world with Europe too facing an unprecedented heat wave.[45]
Summary
The intermeshed trap of obesity, under-nutrition, and climate change, which constitutes the Global Syndemic according to Swinburn et al, is an existential threat to the future of human and planetary health.[1]. This review is not a formal systematic review but has been written after a deep review of the formal literature, grey literature, and recommendations It provides the developing country climate sensitive multidisciplinary perspective embedded in the existing knowledge of physical activity and built environment. It develops a framework for a dynamic urban barometer with relevant indicators, inclusive of the developing country perspective, which would reflect (directly or as sensitive surrogates) the progress and status of different countries, cities' and towns' built environment, and the related polices These could act as a global observatory helping government and the UN towards monitoring and surveillance at the city, state, country, and global level and sustainable development. It could contribute to a framework convention on built environment and physical activity, which would be a major step towards achieving the SDGs, basic attainment of human rights, UN-habitat-3, and WHOs initiative for age-friendly cities.[10,26,35,36]
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