Unhealthy behaviors, non-communicable disease risk and countries’ economic development

What is it about?

This study aims to better understand the causes of and potential solutions for chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs), like heart and respiratory disease, cancer, and diabetes. To do so, this study uses empirical data from 112 countries to examine the relationship between four particular consumer behaviors (alcohol consumption, excess caloric intake, unbalanced diet, and tobacco use), which are linked to an increased risk of NCDs, and economic development (based on each countries’ income per capita).

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Why is it important?

This study allows researchers to rank countries by the average level of unhealthy behaviors and compare these averages against the countries’ economic development status. The results of this study provides evidence to support the notion that up to a certain threshold, increased economic prosperity leads to increased unhealthy behaviors, which accounts for elevated rates of NCDs. Accordingly, this evidence can be used to report the development of effective policies that can control lifestyle-related risk factors for NCDs.