While multiple studies have proven that ultra-processed foods, social media, tobacco, and alcohol are associated with poor mental health, as it turns out, burning fossil fuels — which caused man-made climate change and is continuing to exacerbate the ongoing climate crisis — is also linked to a higher risk of developing depression and even suicide. A new study found that air pollution and climate change caused by fossil fuel consumption are just as detrimental to mental health as other unhealthy commodities.
“The commercial determinants of health (CDOH) can be thought of as “the systems, practices, and pathways through which commercial actors drive health and equity”. This includes both the direct and indirect effects of the consumption of produced commodities – such as tobacco, alcohol, fossil fuels, and unhealthy foods – and the drivers of consumption such as marketing and advertising,” the researchers explained.
“These commercial influences can impact not just physical but also mental health, since unhealthy commodity products directly affect and/or harm mental health,” the researchers explained in their study that was published in PLOS Global Public Health. “The effects are also indirect; for example, the producers of harmful commodities frequently adopt framings of individual responsibility to place the blame for product harms on individuals themselves.”
This is done through marketing campaigns and initiatives that use terms like “individual carbon footprint” and slogans like “Gamble/Drink Responsibly.”
“Despite the evidence for impacts of unhealthy commodity consumption on health outcomes, existing frameworks for the social determinants of health generally do not consider commercial determinants; nor do they typically include mental health,” they added. “There is a strong case for drawing together the existing evidence on mental ill health and commercial determinants.”
Worldwide, at least one in eight people have a diagnosed mental health disorder, which researchers believe is an underestimate of the actual number of people struggling with mental illnesses. Currently, most existing scientific literature tends to focus on individual experiences and risk factors like childhood trauma.
But lead author Kate Dun-Campbell and colleagues argue that this approach could overlook wider political, economic, and commercial forces that shape and influence people’s mental health.
They examined the impact of six industries on the public in their study: tobacco, alcohol, social media, ultra-processed foods, gambling, and fossil fuel products. “We also chose to only include adverse impacts from large-multinational manufacturers. Although the private sector often undertakes important social functions aligned with health benefits, these positive health impacts are already incentivized through the commercial incentives of profit-seeking, just as negative health impacts are,” the authors explained.
They analyzed the data and findings of 65 studies that investigated how the consumption of unhealthy commodities could harm mental health. Out of that 27 studies examined the impact of air pollution, temperature increases, and pesticides on mental health outcomes.
The authors concluded: “Our review highlights that there is already compelling evidence of the negative impact of unhealthy products on mental health, despite key gaps in understanding the impact of broader commercial practices.”
