The richer we get, the more inactive we become

Economics in pictures #35: Out-of-home advertising of Uber Eats

I took this snap yesterday morning while waiting for the tram in Berlin. The out-of-home ad of Uber Eats says: Before the party. Eat first. At the party. Eat first. After the party. Eat first.

A feature of modern life is that people don‘t come to food, but food comes to people.

We no longer need to gather or hunt for food. Just put it in the shopping basket. Supermarkets are the paradise that came true in the affluent society.

But since calorie intake in excess has become possible for little money, the number one health risk is obesity. 39 per cent of adults worldwide are overweight, and 13 per cent are obese. (What about you? If your body mass index, short: BMI, is 18.5 to 25, it falls within the healthy weight range; if it is 25.0 to 30, it falls within the overweight range; 30.0 and above means obesity; here you can calculate your BMI.)

The last gap in the food supply chain has also been closed. An industry has emerged that delivers to your doorstep. 

This food delivery market has seen significant growth over the past years. Led by platform-to-consumer services, such as DoorDash and Uber Eats, food delivery has expanded from takeaways to anything and everything. The food delivery industry is expected to grow to $320 billion worldwide by 2029 (in 2022, it will be about $140 billion). Uber Eats has the highest single app users outside China (number one in China is Meituan). 

The consequence of those conveniences: people reduce their physical activities. A report from the World Health Organization says that people in high-income countries are more inactive (37 per cent of the people) compared to middle-income (26) and low-income countries (16). 

The downsides of the affluent society are the diseases of affluence such as type 2 diabetes, asthma, and coronary heart disease. We’d better carry our groceries ourselves, at least for the last mile. 🚶🏼

Onwards,

Johannes Eber