title: Urban environment and health: food security.
abstract: The authors examine the impact of urbanization on food security and human health in the Middle East. Within-urban-population disparities in food security represent one of the most dramatic indicators of economic and health disparities. These disparities are reflected in a double burden of health outcomes: increasing levels of chronic disease as well as growing numbers of undernourished among the urban poor. These require further comprehensive solutions. Some of the factors leading to food insecurity are an overdependence on purchased food commodities, lack of sufficient livelihoods, rapid reductions in peripheral agricultural land, and adverse impacts of climate change. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Food Security Framework is used to examine and compare 2 cities in the Middle East: Amman, Jordan, and Manama, Bahrain.
authors.affiliation: Center for Global and Immigrant Health, UCLA School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1772, USA. ogalal@ucla.edu
authors.forename: Osman
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Galal
authors.forename: Meghan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Corroon
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tirado
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002675:Child, Preschool; D057231:Climate Change; D005260:Female; D005523:Food Supply; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000453:epidemiology; D008877:Middle East / Q000453:epidemiology; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014480:United Nations; D014504:Urban Health; D014507:Urbanization; D055815:Young Adult