The rapid urbanisation of sub-Saharan Africa ‘could lead to an explosion’ in rates of heart disease and diabetes. [s]VOA News[/s] reports that a study led by Dr Manjinder Sandhu, of the [b]University of Cambridge[/b], and the [b]Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute[/b] estimates that even small changes toward urbanisation could affect health. And, chronic infections, such as HIV and hepatitis C, can worsen the effects of non-communicable diseases (NCD) that accompany urbanisation. Urbanisation has an upside but it can be a double-edged sword – there are lifestyle changes, such as adopting a more Western diet that’s high in fat, sugar and salt, less physical activity, greater alcohol consumption and weight gain. Researchers base their findings on more than 7,300 people living in 25 villages in [b]Uganda[/b].
[link url=http://www.voanews.com/content/urbanization-health-30jul14/1968172.html]Full VOA News report[/link]
[link url=http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1001683]PLOS Medicine study[/link]