BMJ 1995;311:1651-1652 (23 December)

Editorials

Contemplating a one child world

Falling grain stocks and rising population spell disaster and demand debate

We humans are facing a new problem. As is inevitable within any closed system, our rapidly increasing impact on Earth's natural environment is beginning to cause systemic strain.1 In a remarkable "first" in human history, we have begun to change the composition of the atmosphere; and as a sign of planetary strain, the productivity of our main food producing ecosystems has apparently plateaued.2 3 4 5 Meanwhile, in absolute terms, world population is growing faster than ever.

Fertility rates have recently declined in most countries. But in a substantial and provocative article, King et al argue that this decline in fertility is too slow for the circumstances of today's world.6 The result, they say, is that some of the poorest nations are becoming "demographically entrapped": the weight of their current or projected numbers exceeds the carrying capacity of their environment, and because . . . [Full text of this article]


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  • Haines, A., McMichael, A. J (1997). Climate change and health: implications for research, monitoring, and policy. BMJ 315: 870-874 [Full text]  
  • Hesketh, T., Zhu, W. X. (1997). Health in China: The one child family policy: the good, the bad, and the ugly. BMJ 314: 1685-1685 [Abstract] [Full text]  
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