obesityinamerica.org Whatever we do in any part of the planet, there is a cost involved unless we use only what we need and recycle our cast-offs. The best example of this is to live the way early man did, hunting and gathering. But too many people occupy the Earth now to revert to a simple way of life.
Civilization has evolved to accommodate citizens in urban areas. Some people are doing so well in this system that they are eating more than is good for them—just because they can. I'm not talking about those who are ill and unable to control their weight, but people who live in built-up areas of population.
The fast food industry thrives on such people—too busy doing other things, to cook their own food.
The news today is shocking.
Research has suggested the worldwide cost of obesity equals that of smoking or armed conflict and is greater than both alcoholism and climate change.
The McKinsey Global Institute said it cost £1.3tn, or 2.8% of annual economic activity. Some about 30% of the world's population (2.1bn people) were overweight or obese, and the proportion could rise to almost half of the world's population by 2030.
They said measures that relied less on individual responsibility should be used to tackle the problem.
The steep economic toll of obesity is growing for health care and more widely in the economy. The rising prevalence of obesity is driving the increase in heart and lung disease, diabetes and lifestyle-related cancers. Illness causes a rising economic toll because of lost working days and labor output.
Okay, we don't want, or need, to go back to the hunter-gatherer days. But I can't see any way out of this rise in obesity. Even though they want to, people can't lose weight once they put it on. The yo-yo effect of health diets followed by binges does no good at all. Perhaps it would help if we only ate food that is as natural as possible.
Civilization has evolved to accommodate citizens in urban areas. Some people are doing so well in this system that they are eating more than is good for them—just because they can. I'm not talking about those who are ill and unable to control their weight, but people who live in built-up areas of population.
The fast food industry thrives on such people—too busy doing other things, to cook their own food.
The news today is shocking.
Research has suggested the worldwide cost of obesity equals that of smoking or armed conflict and is greater than both alcoholism and climate change.
The McKinsey Global Institute said it cost £1.3tn, or 2.8% of annual economic activity. Some about 30% of the world's population (2.1bn people) were overweight or obese, and the proportion could rise to almost half of the world's population by 2030.
They said measures that relied less on individual responsibility should be used to tackle the problem.
The steep economic toll of obesity is growing for health care and more widely in the economy. The rising prevalence of obesity is driving the increase in heart and lung disease, diabetes and lifestyle-related cancers. Illness causes a rising economic toll because of lost working days and labor output.
Okay, we don't want, or need, to go back to the hunter-gatherer days. But I can't see any way out of this rise in obesity. Even though they want to, people can't lose weight once they put it on. The yo-yo effect of health diets followed by binges does no good at all. Perhaps it would help if we only ate food that is as natural as possible.
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