Almost three-quarters of deaths from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) worldwide can be traced back to a lack of physical movement and proper nutrition, a trend that worries Sujane Kandasamy.

While advice like eating better and exercising to avoid NCDs such as Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and some cancers can seem simple, the Child and Youth Studies postdoctoral fellow says these behaviour changes don’t take place in a vacuum.

“Climate change and poor land-use planning can affect the price and supply of food and the availability of shaded outdoor spaces for exercise,” says Kandasamy. “We need to address these and other factors by taking an integrated approach to improving global health, with youth at the helm because they are the agents of change. We need to act now to prepare for our future health.”

Kandasamy and Associate Professor of Child and Youth Studies Matt Kwan are part of an international research team that will study the integration of health interventions with climate change mitigation and environmental protection efforts in Hamilton, Ont.; Calgary, Alta.; and Kingston, Jamaica.

The research team aims to design, implement and evaluate a Sustainability Healthy Active Living (SHAL) program in each of the three locations. Local youth will serve as co-researchers in each SHAL group, which will also include representatives from government, education, places of worship, and advocacy and community organizations.

These groups will create knowledge and activities supporting sustainable practices, such as recycling or creating home and community gardens, as well as healthy, active living, such as consuming fewer ultra-processed foods or walking and bicycling instead of driving where possible.

Kandasamy says there may be some contextual differences among the three locations, but they share the common themes and priorities of environmental sustainability, nutrition, and “active” transportation and leisure as ways of reducing risks associated with non-communicable diseases.

She and Kwan, Canada Research Chair in Youth Mental Health and Performance, are co-leading research in two low-income Calgary neighbourhoods with high immigrant and refugee populations.

Kandasamy says recent immigrants to Canada face health and social inequalities that may make them more vulnerable to developing Type 2 diabetes and other NCDs.

“Faced with other competing financial, employment and housing priorities, newcomers often experience unique challenges along the settlement trajectory that impact the prioritization of health and wellness,” she says. “This may limit participation in physical activity, consumption of healthy local foods and engaging in environmental stewardship.”

Kwan says interventions in late adolescence are crucial for youth to build healthy futures for themselves and their peers.

“This is important work that will involve youth residing within these communities and multisectoral stakeholders to help co-design intervention strategies that they believe can help them sustain healthy active lifestyles and environmental stewardship,” he says.

Supporting the SHAL research team’s work is a Global Alliance for Chronic Disease Award from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) for the McMaster University-based project “Building healthy communities with the dual goal of chronic disease prevention and promoting environmental sustainability.”

Co-heading the entire project is Sonia Anand, a Professor in McMaster University’s Department of Medicine, and Simon Anderson, a Professor in the Faculty of Medical Sciences at the University of the West Indies’ Cave Hill Campus in Barbados.

“This project represents the culmination of key strategic community partnerships forged over the past several years,” says Kwan.