Recently I had the chance to speak with a cardiologist and he told me that most heart disease cases are caused by lifestyle choices. People willingly choose many of the major risk factors that cause heart disease such as poor diet (high in saturated and trans fats), smoking, excessive drinking and physical inactivity. For a while, I always thought that heart disease was just a natural byproduct of aging but now I realize that it is simply our lifestyle choices coming home to roost. According to the American Heart Association, 70% of adults over the age of 60 suffer from some form of heart disease. This is a pretty scary statistic and what is scarier is that the percentage of people in the younger age groups at risk for heart disease is increasing fast. One major reason for this increase in risk among younger age groups is obesity.Obesity, defined as an abnormally high body fat percentage in relation to lean body mass, has been on a dramatic rise in the US during the past 20 years (Center for Disease Control and Prevention). Although I have only been talking about the United States, I want to point out that according to the World Health Organization, "obesity has reached epidemic proportions globally". There are many contributing factors to the worldwide obesity epidemic but I believe that the two major factors are good tasting food and the Internet.
Good tasting food? Yes, good tasting food. Our society places a premium on delicious food and those who can prepare it (just look at the prices people are willing to pay at upscale/trendy restaurants or the increase ratings for the Food Network and cooking shows) but I blame tasty food for the rampant obesity problem. Although I love delectable foods like everyone else, I have come to realize that it is these very foods that are getting most of us in trouble when it comes to a sensible diet. I can honestly say, the only times that I overeat is when the food is good and tasty. I don't remember the last time I was stuffed eating bitter melon but I do remember being unable to move after a nice tasty dinner (and I'm not even talking about holiday meals and special occasions). The point is when the food tastes good, people will naturally eat more than they should. When you eat more than you can burn off, you become fat and if you do this often you become obese.
Another reason why tasty food is responsible for obesity and subsequent heart disease is because the ingredients that make most food savory, such as oil, sugar and butter, are the very same ingredients that should be avoided. Many times it is not the actual raw food that is bad for you but the preparation of that food. Some people will argue that cooking is an art and food should be enjoyed and not merely be used as a form of sustenance and I completely agree. The only thing I don't agree with is the overuse of certain health detrimental ingredients (salt, oil, fats, sugar and butter) for the sake of increased taste. I have always been a fan of large meal portions, but I have come to realize that when it comes to delicious food, most people (myself included) can not control how much they should eat and usually go way over the limit. Perhaps the people preparing the food should be accountable for controlling the portion size. In addition, there are foods, such as anything deep fried, that are just bad for you no matter how you want to look at it. Unfortunately for me, one of my favorite foods just happens to be French Fries, although I am trying to slowly wean myself off of it.
The Internet, one of the greatest inventions of all time, has been a huge factor for the rapid increase in obesity all over the world. It is no coincidence that with the growth of the Internet came a generation of overweight children and adults. The Internet has made life much easier and more efficient in all aspects of our life but one detriment to this wonderful discovery is that it causes people to lead a "sedentary lifestyle" which basically refers to lifestyle that lacks physical activity. Although most people know that exercise is good, they cannot resist the Internet. The Internet is not only a central hub for most communication but it has content on anything imaginable and all extremely easy to access. Not only is content appealing but that fact that you can upload your own thoughts and material (YouTube videos, blogs, personal websites) to add to this ever growing web of information is stimulating enough to keep you sitting down in front of your computer 24 hours a day. For older folks, the effect of the Internet may not be as important but for the children who were born not knowing a life without the Internet, there may be some serious health repercussions.There are two elements in determining a person's weight, calories consumed and calories burned. Tasty food and the Internet affect these two elements, respectively. Tasty food usually leads to calorie overconsumption and the Internet leads to insufficient exercise thus fewer calories burned. I am not saying that we should all go out and eat bland, bad tasting food, although those who do will most likely see some weight loss and reduction in body fat, but rather to raise awareness of the power tasty foods have of destroying a sensible diet. If you can keep your portions in control and stay away from unhealthy foods (junk foods, candy, deep fried foods and sodas), you should see some good progress in obtaining or maintaining normal weight. As for the Internet effect, perhaps experts should revise the daily recommended caloric intake to take into account the Internet era or maybe you should get up from reading this post and do some exercise. The choice is yours.
Feel free to discuss this issue in the comments section at the bottom of this post!
Recommended Reading: Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser
10 comments:
I'm on the internet so much I don't even want to go take time to eat. I suppose in my case, the internet is stronger than tasty food. As a result, I'm a bit underweight.
That's an interesting comment. I didn't consider the possibility that the internet is powerful enough to outweigh the pains of hunger and I do recall many times when I've been so wrapped up on the computer that I do skip meals. Bad thing is I usually end up eating tons of junk food while in front my computer or binging on food after to satisfy my hunger. Both equally unhealthy.
The fact that Americans are getting busier and busier does not help. Over the years, people have preferred convenience over health which has helped the restaurant industry grow tremendously. People cook less and less at home, and subsequently order out much more often. As a result, their intake of fast foods, restaurant foods, etc. have risen dramatically. Clearly, in order to stay in business, restaurants have to make their foods more and more rich tasting. Their goal is profit, not how healthy their customers get, so adding on another stick of butter does not matter to the head chef as long as the food tastes savory! It is also for the above reasons why certain companies have been so successful because they took advantage of these trends. On the video game side, Nintendo sales of the Wii blew away competitors since it forces kids to move without sacrificing any loss of entertainment. On the healthcare side, the stock price of Novo Nordisk, a leading maker of insulin products (for diabetics) tripled in value. On the consumer staple side, Groupe Danone has topped over other players like Kraft because their products are geared towards healthier products like Activia! Kraft, on the other hand, still does not get it, and has only reduced their products to 100 calorie bags. It's still the same fatty product, just less of a serving, but it does not mean kids would not grab another bag of this stuff!
We need to be like china and have regulation on consumption portion in restaurants.
scott
They have regulations on consumption portion in China? first they limit the number of babies you can have, now they limit the amount of food. Communism...
I know that China is a communist country, where they control most activities such as censorship, the number of children allowed to be bred by each family. And the only good outcome of it is Yao Ming. But now they control the portion of what they consume? Do the Chinese government regulate on WHAT the Chinese people should consume in their daily regimen also?
can i get a link to an article about the limiting of food consumption in China? that sounds impossible..
I am sure there are a lot of reasons that contribute to obesity in America. Another that I recently read about was pretty interesting. There is an increase in our society of eating refined carbohydrates, that is simple starches such as rice, pasta, breads. These foods are processed into our blood stream very quickly. In 1980 the USDA suggested a Carbohydrate based diet, which caused an increase in carbohydrate consumption, but made no difference in the consumption of proteins and fats. This meant that people were overeating in terms of calories, particularly quickly processed energy that would be physically impossible to burn with normal daily activity. I think this has a big reason on today's trends as well. Nice post- keep it up!
There is a lot of truth in the blog article as well as comments by various contributors (apart from the somewhat dubious China government regulating their folks' diet for health reason or otherwise, which I did not hear of during my 2-week visit to Sichuan, China in 2007). I suspect well before the Internet age, people in the US and other effluent countries were already getting into the bad habit of over-eating due to the stress of modern living. With the food price being kept relatively low in the West, people are just becoming addicted to eating tasty, 'comfort' food when failing in or struggling with other aspects of life such as being successful, admired, looked up to or even being loved. Putting it simply, eating becomes a replacement of other achievements in life.
I meant to mention earlier (but forgot while wrestling with blogger editor) that Internet has been around for a relatively short time compared with television, which has had contributed more to obesity due to eating in front of the TV sets. Research suggests that the hunger sensing centre in the brain delays switching off nerve signals responsible for feeling of hunger when subjects are eating and watching TV shows/movies.
An article title The 10 roads to Fatsville in the New Scientist magazine (Nov 2006) suggests why the "Big Two" (lack of physical activities and increased availability of food) just will not do.
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