Why Environmental Health

In the past decade, environmental health science has extended the scope of its definition. Scientists expanded their investigations beyond the impacts of individual pollutants on humans such that we are now able to compute the entire effect it has on our health, encompassing even the external factors not directly linked to a specific cause. Significance of the health impacts brought about by the man-built environment--the places where we live, work and play --has been a key element in the ongoing advancement in the discipline of environmental health science.

As scientists have begun using new equipments and approaches to explore the multifaceted interrelationships between the built environment and health impacts on the world population at large, it has become increasingly visible that the man-built environment directly impacts our health.

Research has shown that negative aspects of the built environment tend to cause and worsen health disparities, triggering distressing circumstances. An example would be that the lack of sidewalks, bike paths, and recreational areas in some neighbourhoods discourages physical activity and contributes to obesity even at a young age.

specific communities like the lower-income and minority groups are usually placed at the disadvantaged end as they are burdened with higher rates of disease, limited access to health care, and other health disproportions --are also the people living with the worst built environment conditions. In run-down areas that do have such amenities, the threat of crime stops many people from leaving their homes. Income segregation--the custom of housing the poor in shabby areas of a city--has also been linked with malnutrition and adverse mental health diseases. Absence of a supermarket in a neighborhood limits residents’ access to healthy foods. Exposures to lead, asthma triggers (such as mold, moisture, dust mites, and rodents), and mental health stressors such as violence and social isolation, are all associated with rundown housing.