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Pasha 33: Staying healthy is difficult for young women in Soweto

It’s not easy for young women living in Soweto, South Africa, to prioritise healthy living. Soweto is a large, densely populated urban township that’s home to one third of Johannesburg’s population. In a research project, women aged between 18 and 24 explained that unhealthy food was cheap and easily accessible. To make matters worse, they didn’t feel safe to work out and had very real concerns about being harassed or attacked in some way while jogging, walking or doing any other kind of exercise in public.

In today’s episode of Pasha Alessandra Prioreschi, an associate director and researcher at the Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit at Wits University discusses these challenges. She also looks into how obesity is normalised in South Africa.


Read more: Young women in Soweto say healthy living is hard. Here's why


Photo: Richard van der Spuy Kota - a basic unhealthy South African popular township street food. Shutterstock

Music “Happy African Village” by John Bartmann found on FreeMusicArchive.org licensed under CC0 1.

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