Chronic diseases are the major cause of death in the world. They also have a tremendous economic impact on societies and healthcare systems. While we used to refer to chronic diseases as ‘diseases of affluence’, we now know that individuals in lower socioeconomic status population cohorts are much more vulnerable to chronic diseases than ever before. Further, while we also once assumed that chronic diseases were the problem of the developed world, we now know that the increasing rates of these diseases are being seen more acutely in the developing world. Geographers have contributed substantially to our understanding of the distribution, diffusion, determinants, and of chronic diseases. Most recently, geographers have contributed to the understanding of the role of the environment (social, physical, and built) as a major determinant of chronic diseases and their primary risk factors.