A survey across 141 countries found that more than 52 percent of respondents “anticipate serious harm from drinking water in the next two years,” according to a recent study
The study, newly published in Nature Communications, analyzed data from more than 148,000 adults from the 2019 Lloyd’s Register Foundation World Risk Poll.
Researchers from Northwestern University and UNC found that in the United States, despite over 97 percent of the population having access to clean water, around 40 percent of people anticipated harm. The lowest rate was reported in Singapore (0.9 percent) and the highest was reported in Zambia (54.3 percent). NZ’s equivalent rate was 5.8 percent.
“When we mistrust our tap water, we buy packaged water, which is wildly expensive and hard on the environment; drink soda or other sugar-sweetened beverages, which is hard on the teeth and the waistline; and consume highly processed prepared foods or go to restaurants to avoid cooking at home, which is less healthy and more expensive,” Sera L. Young, the study’s senior author, said in a press release.