The Geography of Food

and Health
IB Geography
Mr. Swanson

Thinking Ahead
Why is this an optional unit in the IB
Geography Curriculum?
Why is it valuable to have knowledge
about the geography of food and
health?

Unit Essential Questions:

How do we measure health and
wellness?
How do income and life-style effect
health?
What geographic factors effect health
and wellness?

Unit Essential Questions:

How does International Trade effect the
availability of food around the world?
What is Sustainable Agriculture? How
do we create Sustainable Agriculture
locally, regionally, globally?

Geography of Food and Health

Disease of Affluence: Diseases of affluence is a term
sometimes given to selected diseases and other health
conditions which are commonly thought to be a result of
increasing wealth in a society
Disease of Poverty: Diseases of poverty is a term
sometimes used to collectively describe diseases,
disabilities, and health conditions that are more prevalent
among the poor than among wealthier people.

Disease Causes
Disease of Affluence: Modern diet (high in meat,
salt, fat) and sedentary lifestyle (lack of exercise
and modern jobs).
Disease of Poverty: Malnutrition, stress, overwork, and
inadequate, inaccessible, or non-existent health care can
hinder recovery and exacerbate the disease.

Vocabulary
Health Adjusted Life Expectancy: (HALE) HALE is a measure o f population
health that takes into account mortality and morbidity. It adjusts overall life
expectancy by the amount of time lived in less than perfect health.

Energy efficiency means using less energy to provide

the same service. For example, a compact fluorescent
bulb is more efficient than a traditional incandescent
bulb.

Unit Vocabulary
Infant Mortality Rate: total number of
deaths of children less than one year
old divided by the total number of
live births multiplied by 1000.
Life Expectancy: Average number of
years that a person can be expected
to live if demographics factors
remain unchanged

Male Life Expectancy

Unit Vocabulary
Access to safe water: Access to safe
water that is affordable and in
sufficient quantity.
Access to Health Services: Usually
measured by the number of people
per doctor, health worker or hospital.

Global Inequalities in Health

Care

Unit Vocabulary
YLDs: Years lived with disability
DALYs: Disability-adjusted life years
= The sum of years of potential life
lost due to premature mortality and
the years of productive life lost due
to disability.

DALYs Source Chart

Unit Vocabulary
Malnutrition: A state of poor nutrition
resulting from a deficiency or imbalance
of proteins, energy and minerals. Each
leads to a different disease.
Obesity: An unhealthy condition where
excess body fat has accumulated and
the body mass index (BMI) exceeds 30
(Calculated weight in kilograms divided
by height in metres squared)

Global Obesity Map

Unit Vocabulary
Starvation: A state of extreme
hunger, resulting from lack of food
over a prolonged period of time.
Temporary Hunger: Short term
physiological need for food, resulting
from deprivation.
Famine: An extreme shortage of
food, resulting in mortality. Famine
can occur where food is available,
but people lack the means to buy it.

World Hunger Map

Unit Vocabulary
Land Reform: Redistribution of land
to individual farmers giving them the
inculters to invent and make land
more productive.
Degradation: Depletion of
vegetation, loss of biodiversity, soil
and water.
Energy Subsidies: Sources of energy
not directly received from the sun,
ex. Fossil Fuels

Soil Degradation Map

Unit Vocabulary
The Green Revolution: A series of
research, technology, and production
discoveries that radically changed
food production in the developed
world beginning in the 1940s-1960s.
Ex. Pesticides, Fertilizers, Machines

Energy Subsidy Graph

Geography Bookwork
Chapter: Geography of Food and
Health
Pgs. 255-285
To Do Questions
Due one week from today