Last week saw the launch of the Eatwell Guide—the UK’s official food guide to healthy diets. Astonishingly, despite major changes in eating habits and advances in nutrition science, this is the first review of these guidelines since their original publication 20 years ago. While the update—prompted by expert recommendations on sugar—is long overdue and welcomed, it […]
Category: Climate change
Tony Waterston: Coming up for air at COP 21
Standing under the Eiffel Tower on the last day of the climate conference in Paris, the solidarity I felt with the thousands of demonstrators from around the world was invigorating. I went as part of the Friends of the Earth action weekend because I’m certain that climate change is the greatest threat to global health […]
Sarah Walpole: Health through peace—mixing stories and science, and grabbing rays of hope
“We were deployed to attack civilians in their homes.” He stood in front of our 700 strong audience, bared the horrors of his experiences, and shared the pain of his realisation, all with brutal honesty. He described a standard operation carried out by British soldiers in Iraq: waking a family from their sleep with an […]
David McCoy: Divestment is no grand gesture
According to Jeremy Farrar, head of the Wellcome Trust, the Guardian’s “Keep in the Ground” campaign to promote divestment from fossil fuel companies is merely a “grand gesture” that can be made only once. At one level, he is right. The financial impact of the Wellcome Trust selling off its shares in fossil fuel companies […]
Michael Wilks: Climate change—action at a national and global level is essential
The 2015 Lancet Commission on Health and Climate Change was published on 23 June. A previous commission, established jointly by The Lancet and University College London, described climate change as “the biggest global health threat of the 21st century.” While the 2015 report recommends practical steps to be taken by national and international administrations, it […]
Jocalyn Clark: The surprising links between child marriage, climate change, and health
It seems obvious that child marriage—marriage before 18 years of age—would be bad for girls’ health. It risks injury and death due to early pregnancy and abuse, and usually means girls stop going to school. But the link to climate change is less conspicuous. A new Human Rights Watch report, focused on Bangladesh, which has […]
The BMJ Today: More on climate change
Earlier this year, The BMJ’s editor in chief, Fiona Godlee, was one of 50 senior UK medical professionals to sign a letter in the Times newspaper about the health benefits of ending investment in fossil fuels, and diverting funds instead to alternative energy and more active forms of transport. On 1 October 2014, The BMJ […]
Daniel Maughan: What has climate change got to do with mental health?
This blog is part of a series on sustainable healthcare, which looks at health, sustainability, and the interplay between the two. The blog is coordinated by the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare and shares ideas from experts across the healthcare field. The World Health Organization and the Lancet Commission have both stated that climate change is […]
Alistair Wardrope: Healthcare organisations and fossil fuel divestment
Much has been said about the outcomes of the BMA’s Annual Representatives’ Meeting (ARM) this week. Of the debates held and motions passed, however, perhaps only Tim Crocker-Buqué’s tobacco motion has as strong a claim to world first status as motion 370. Buried in the rather dry sounding section on “Finances of the Association,” this […]
Isobel Braithwaite: Taking bold steps to curb climate change
At the end of May, US President Barack Obama unveiled new power plant standards, which are designed to cut pollution and curb greenhouse gas emissions. He should be applauded for this bold step in the right direction, and even more so for recognising and presenting it to the public as a public health policy, which […]