| Weight of the World: Study Reveals More Overweight People in the World than Starving |
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| Obesity - Obesity 2006 |
| Written by Frank Mangano |
| Thursday, 24 August 2006 02:01 |
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A study done by researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill reports the number of overweight people in the world outweighs the number of people who are undernourished in the world. According to the report, more than one billion are overweight, compared to the estimated 850 million who are starving. Of course, we know the United States has a problem with obesity, as does the United Kingdom, Mexico, Australia and Egypt, according to University of North Carolina professor Barry Popkin. What makes this study so revealing, however, is that obesity is not a problem relegated to developed countries. “This is not just happening in developed countries, the developing world also has serious problems,” said Tony Barnett of the study, who heads the diabetes and obesity group at Birmingham University. “The biggest increases are being seen in parts of Asia, with certain populations more susceptible than others.” Popkin told the International Association of Agricultural Economists in Australia that the trend is tied to the expansion of empty calorie foods and drinks into countries where such foods weren’t always so readily available. He also cited an economical trend, namely, the relatively cheap prices for fried and high processed foods. For example, in a case study he did in China starting in 1989, 25 percent of the nation is overweight due to consumers opting for reasonably priced meats and fried foods over the more nutritionally sound foods found in cereals, rice and noodles. He also pointed to a decrease in physical activity across the world as another explanation. So what’s the answer to curb this trend? Perhaps increased funding for education to inform consumers further on the importance of eating and living a healthy lifestyle? Not according to Popkin. He believes funding should go toward fruits and vegetables to make them more appealing to buy, meanwhile, making it less appealing to buy junk foods. “If we (the world’s governments) charge money for every calorie of soft drink and fruit drink that was consumed, people would consume less of it,” Popkin explained to the group. “If we subsidize fruit and vegetable production, people would consume more of it, and we would have a healthier diet.” There’s no doubt that political rankling would likely result from any effort that would tax consumers’ purchases of high calorie sodas and other junk foods. But isn’t this method the very tactic employed on cigarette sales, all in an effort to help people quit the deadly habit? And the tactic seems to be working, especially among young people where money is often hard to come by. The average tax rate on cigarettes is expected to rise to 96.1 cents a pack, up from 93.7, beginning January 2007. All politics aside, I applaud this study and Popkin’s thinking “outside the box” on what the world and its governments can do to help curb the obesity trend, which has now truly become a trend that’s pandemic in both breadth and scope. A great deal of attention still has to be placed on people in third world countries that are starving (India is struggling most). But the one billion overweight people in the world ought to receive its due diligence; obesity’s side effects are just as costly as malnourishment. Here’s a special F-R-E-E 38 page report titled, “The Best Natural Ways to Lower Your Blood Pressure, Reduce Your Waistline and Take Back Your Health:”
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