lecture 4- population and health

Question 1

Population

Answer 1

the number of people bound in an area
(ex. world population about 8.2B)

Question 2

Cencus

Answer 2

means “to assess”, who is living in the area you are overseeing

• does not reflect undocumented people, homeless people etc.
  -done every 4-6 years, expensive

Question 3

Population density (arithmetic density)

Answer 3

= the number of humans living per unit land in the area

• ex. population density of Canada is 4 people per square km
• cities are areas of population and economic density

Question 4

Physiological density

Answer 4

number of people per unit of arable land
enough food or resources?

Question 5

Agricultural density

Answer 5

number of farmers per amount of arable land

Question 6

Population clusters
(where is most of the world populated and why)

Answer 6

-2/3 of the world’s inhabitants live in four regions: East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Europe

-the 4 regions generally have low-lying areas, temperate climate (not too much variation), soil good for agriculture (2 crop seasons/year)

Question 7

Demographics

Answer 7

= the different characteristics of a population

Ex. age, sex, gender, income, occupation, race, health (lifespan), family structure…

Question 8

Measuring population and fertility

Answer 8

crude birth rate
total fertility rate

Question 9

Crude birth rate (CBR)=

Answer 9

total number of live births per year for every 1000 people

Question 10

Total fertility rate (TFR)=

Answer 10

average number of children a woman aged 15-49 will have

Question 11

CBR and TFR tend to be higher in which countires?

Answer 11

developing countries, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa

Question 12

which regions are we seeing dramatic decline in CBR and TFR?

Answer 12

Parts of Europe and East Asia

Question 13

Measuring population mortality

Answer 13

Crude death rate (CDR)
Infant mortality rate
Maternal mortality rate
Life expectancy

Question 14

Crude death rate (CDR)=

Answer 14

total number of deaths in a year for every 1000 people

Question 15

Infant mortality rate=

Answer 15

number of live births that die within 1 year per 1000 people

Question 16

Maternal mortality rate=

Answer 16

number of mothers that die as a direct result of childbirth in a year per 100,000 people

Question 17

Life expectancy=

Answer 17

how long you are expected to live in a society

Question 18

NIR=

Answer 18

= (CBR-CDR)/10

Question 18

population growth: the natural increase rate (NIR)=

Answer 18

the percent by which a population grows in a year

Question 19

population: Doubling time

Answer 19

number of years needed to double a population, assuming a constant natural increase rate

Question 20

Population pyramids

Answer 20

= represents a country by age and sex distributions

-splits the sex ratio between male and female
-split by age

Question 21

1. Expansive pyramid

Answer 21

a large amount of population is younger, smaller workforce=child labour?,
not enough people paying taxes,
can lead to youth unemployment as the population grows (ex. Nigeria)

Question 22

2. Constrictive or stationary pyramid (even/stationary distribution for younger and older people)

Answer 22

• most of the world is in this pyramid
• roughly same amount of people moving in and out of population/workforce
  -slow but manageable growth

-workforce supports the younger and older population
(ex. Cambodia)
NIR= 1 is roughly stable

Question 23

3.
Reductive/stationary/
stagnant pyramid:

Answer 23

swelling at the top rather than the bottom, not enough young people (ex. Japan)

NIR below zero (roughly)

Question 24

Social problems can stem from population problems

Answer 24

• hollowing out of the workforce/middle aged population in Sint Martin to move out of the country to support their parents
• large number of males in the workforce in unites Arab emirates and Qatar due to relocation for work creates an unequal ratio of males to females= social tension, not good for family planning

Question 25

Demographic transition

Answer 25

=showcases the societal transition from low NIR, to high NIR and back to low NIR

4 stages broken up by technological and societal changes:
Used to be called “first world, third world etc.”

Question 26

demographic transition: stage 1

Answer 26

= low growth

-Most of human history
-Hunter gatherer societies
-Growth is largely linked to food supply

Question 27

demographic transition: stage 2

Answer 27

= high growth

-Dramatic decline in death rates
-Increasing birth rates (steady)
-Increase in natural increase rate (NIR)
-Mostly driven by technological advances!!!! (immunization…)
-It is easier to stop people from dying than convince them to reproduce
-The area between births and deaths increases, large increase in population

Question 28

demographic transition: stage 3

Answer 28

= decreasing growth

-Decrease in birth rate
-Decrease in death rate (steady)
-Decrease NIR (but still a positive number, above zero)
-Still a stable population because people are living longer, still more births than deaths
-Largely socioeconomically driven!!!
-Women in the workforce due to inflation and cost of living
-Population starts to stagnate at this point

Question 29

demographic transition: stage 4

Answer 29

= low growth

-Decrease in birth rates
-Slight increase in death rates; lack of support/resources for the growing aging population
-Decrease in NIR (even more)
-Driven socially; both parents working is normal
-“Greying population”
-Higher standard of living

Question 30

where are we in the demographic transition now?

Answer 30

Stage 4, low growth

possibly pushing into an unknown 5th stage

Question 31

demographic transition: 5th stage?

Answer 31

-Japan promoting marriage to raise the birthrate

-Eldercare (hospital visits, medicine… is a lot more expensive compared to childcare)
–> puts a strain on the economy

-social unrest
-socially driven

Question 32

Epidemiological transition (4 stages)

Answer 32

Stage 1: pestilence and famine
- epidemics and pandemics were the primary cause of human death
Ex. black plague

Stage 2: receding pandemics
- improved sanitation, nutrition, industrial revolution medical advances

Stage 3: degenerative diseases
- decrease in deaths from infectious diseases
- increase in chronic disorders and degenerative diseases
(ex. CVD, cancer)

Stage 4: delayed degenerative and lifestyle diseases
- same causes of death but lifespan is increased due to medical advances and behavioural changes
-behavioural changes= diet, exercise, tobacco and alcohol use

Question 33

Malthus’s Theory (1798), united kingdom

Answer 33

-population grows more rapidly than food supply

-unmanaged growth of a population cannot be supported by a finite food supply

-could lead to a “Malthusian Catastrophe” resulting in famine, war, and a decline in society

-known as Carrying Capacity in ecology

Question 34

problems with Malthus’ Theory

Answer 34

Substantial influence on policy makers

Social Darwinism and eugenics

Only certain people should be allowed to reproduce
–> classist and racist implications

**slippery slope! Went from a theory about avoiding catastrophe and overpopulation to a very racist and classist ideology.

Question 35

2 political/social outcomes of Malthus’ theory

Answer 35

1. the poor law amendment act of 1834
   - the poor should be able to feed themselves, wealthy people no longer required to feed them
   -justified using Malthus’s logic
2. Irish potato famine of 1840s

Question 36

Neo-Malthusians and his critics

Answer 36

Malthus’s theory is still relevant today
Important to be aware of social and economic outcomes from these ideal

Can be seen as overly pessimistic

Some people think that population isn’t the problem but an unjust system of distribution

Every time population grows exponentially there is a new wave of Malthusism