Overpopulation’s Effect on Human Health
Key changes in world population over time
The world population is growing at an alarming rate. But overpopulation is rarely discussed as a human health issue. The current world population is 7,246,909,000. Every year, it increased by 76 million. In just the last 40 years alone, the population has doubled. the population of Africa is expected to double around the mid 21st century. If fertility remains consistent, the world population could reach 296 billion in the next 150 years.
The chart below analyzes every time our population increased by 1 billion. As the years go on, there is less and less time between the next billion increase. This shows how our population is growing quicker each year.
Top 10 most populated countries today
Zooming in on the world population, it’s interesting to see which countries contribute the most to our overpopulation. Whether the country is developed or developing, it still has an alarming rate of people living there compared to the rest of the world. China and India are the top 2 countries with the highest populations. This is followed by The US, Indonesia, and Brazil.
Population throughout The US today
The current population of the US alone is 332,939,637. This is equivalent to 4.25% of the total world population and is ranked number 3 as seen in the chart above. This also adds up to 94 people per square mile. Focusing specifically in the country we live in, The US, it’s interesting to take note of which regions contribute most to our ever-growing population. The south makes up more than one-third of the US population. Then the West, the Midwest, and the Northeast.
Top 10 most populated states today
Just so we know all the facts, let’s now zoom into the different states in The US. As seen on the map, California has the highest population. However, if you take the top 10 populated states and break it down by population per square mile, New York takes the number one spot with about 413 people per sq. mi.
Overpopulation effects on human health
So far, we’ve only seen statistics and numbers. Now that we know all the facts, it’s important to understand how this affects us. Today the Earth is home to more than 7.8 billion people. By 2100 the population is on track to hit 10.8 billion, according to the United Nations. The primary (and perhaps most obvious) cause of population growth is an imbalance between births and deaths. The infant mortality rate has decreased globally, with 4.1 million infant deaths in 2017 compared to 8.8 million in 1990, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). This is welcome public health news, of course. It is only logical that an increase in the world’s population will cause additional strains on resources. More people means an increased demand for food, water, housing, energy, healthcare, transportation, and more. And all that consumption contributes to ecological degradation, increased conflicts, and a higher risk of large-scale disasters like pandemics.
Ecological Degradation
An increase in population will inevitably create pressures leading to more deforestation, decreased biodiversity, and spikes in pollution and emissions, which will exacerbate climate change. Each spike in the global population has a measurable impact on the planet’s health. According to estimates in a study by Wynes and Nicholas (2017), a family having one fewer child could reduce emissions by 58.6 tonnes CO2-equivalent per year in developed countries.
Increased conflicts
The scarcity brought about by environmental disruption and overpopulation has the potential to trigger an increase in violence and political unrest. We’re already seeing wars fought over water, land, and energy resources in the Middle East and other regions, and the turmoil is likely to increase as the global population grows even larger.
Higher risk of disasters and pandemics
Many of the recent novel pathogens that have devastated humans around the world, including COVID-19, Zika virus, Ebola, and West Nile virus, originated in animals or insects before passing to humans. Part of the reason the world is entering “a period of increased outbreak activity” is because humans are destroying wildlife habitats and coming into contact with wild animals on a more regular basis
Overpopulation cause and effect
What is the reason for overpopulation affecting our health? In what ways does it do this?
Causes
The decline in the death rate (infant mortality): the infant mortality rate in 1900 was 165 per 1,000 births. Whereas today, that rate has been lowered to 7.
Advanced medicine increased life expectancy: In 1900, the average life expectancy was a mere 48 years. But thanks to advances in modern medicine and nutrition education, today the average life expectancy in the U.S. is 78 years: a 30-year difference in just over a century.
Fertility treatment technology accounts for increased births: 191,000 infants born in the U.S. in 2005 alone were conceived via fertility treatments. They accounted for 4.6% of births that year.
Lack of family planning: Across the world, in developing countries, fewer than 1 in 5 women use a form of family planning. With a lack of education about contraception, the population continues to boom.
Poor contraceptive uses
Effects
Food shortage/ starvation: Between 2010 and 2012, 1 in 8 people around the world were suffering from hunger and undernourishment.
Increased risk of spreading diseases: The closer people become, the easier airborne illnesses are spread.
Unemployment: The number of jobs available will never catch up with the population boom. In the last 60 years, the unemployment rate in the U.S. has risen from 2.5% to 6.1%.
The disappearance of non-renewable resources: It is estimated that the earth’s supply of natural gas will run out in the next 35 years. It may happen sooner if the population rate continues to grow.
Environmental damage: With more people come more CO2 emissions. Climate change will be accelerated due to higher amounts of CO2 and methane in the atmosphere.
What can be done to fix overpopulation?
When addressing overpopulation, it’s crucial to take an approach of providing empowerment while mobilizing against anybody advocating for the use of coercion or violence to solve our problems. The combined efforts of spreading knowledge about family planning, increasing agency among women, and debunking widely held myths about contraception will measurably change the trajectory of the world’s population.
#1: Support Education for Women and Girls
Numerous studies have shown that there is a direct and significant link between improved education for women and girls and a lower reproduction rate.
#2: Support Initiatives that Provide Education and Access to Family Planning
Accurate, factual, and unbiased education for children, adolescents, and adults about reproduction, sexual health, and consent are essential to reduce the number of unintentional births that occur each year. Approximately 40% of pregnancies are unintended, which translates to around 85 million unintended pregnancies per year. Easy, affordable, and reliable access to contraceptives and birth control is a major factor in preventing unplanned births and is one of the stronger overpopulation solutions.
#3: Choose Renewable Energy Resources
One of the biggest sources of environmental degradation and pollution is energy production from fossil fuels. Overpopulation solutions are lacking and incomplete if they do not include changes to energy production. Choosing to buy and support renewable energy resources like solar and wind power makes reduces the footprint of your energy consumption. It also supports the shift away from fossil fuels at a larger scale when governments and industries see the buy-in of consumers.
#4. Government incentives
Those at UK charity Population Matters believe there should be a senior government official responsible for addressing population-related issues. They urge governments to promote “responsible parenthood” and say subsidies should be limited to the first two children unless the family is living in poverty.
https://mindseteco.co/overpopulation-solutions/
