In an article yesterday, in The Washington Post, there were disturbing numbers posted by the National Center for Health Statistics stating that over 1/3 of the population of the United States is now considered obese. In other words, the statisics for 2005-2006 have indicated that 72 million adults are seriously over weight. Interestingly enough, the statistics showed that the per cent of Americans considered over weight has remained stable since 1980, but the number considered obese has doubled in that time.
We all know that obesity raises the risk of some cancers, heart disease, diabetes, arthritis
and other conditions.
Last week, I wrote a piece asking people "what they thought they actually needed to be happy". The consensus I seemed to get and is my own true belief is the more you have, the more you think you need to be happy and the converse, the less you have, the less it takes to make you happy.
I really think the statistics from the National Health Center are very telling regarding happiness in American society. I write a lot about food in this blog and I love good food, but loving food is about being able to taste it and appreciate it.
Like great pastry, the textures, the subtleties are what make it a totally different experience than eating Twinkie. If you go to McDonalds, you can get a huge milkshake...the last time I looked, they seemed to be almost 1 liter tubs. Most of the people who order these things injest them through a straw as fast as they can. What a different experience and esthetic it is to have a small gelati or granito and savor it.
The small serving of gelati satisfies on a number of levels, the giant Mickey D shake is gone in 60 seconds with out being really tasted.
It was ironical to read also today in the New York Times that the one business that hasn't seen a downturn because of the economic crisis in America was McDonalds.
This becomes a negative energy feedback loop. You eat fast because you think you don't have time. You eat more than you should quickly and you don't taste it. You eat more than you should quickly without tasting it and still don't feel satisfied. Because you still don't feel satisfied, you eat more.
7 comments:
I see the increase in obesity every time I go back to the States. I like Italy for a number of reasons. The great difference in food and food attitudes is one of them.
Yeah man, there is a special race I call airport trash...baggy shorts and extra extra large t shirts wandering from fast food joint to fast food joint, trying to cram as much airport excitement into their lives between planes....
Are you familiar with the Italian "SLOW FOOD" movement?
We all have time in our lives to eat well and enjoy it, it's all a matter of perception, education and habit.
You might be interested to note that a British couple (qualified in every other aspect) were recently denied the right to adopt a child because the husband was declared obese and would provide a wrong nutritional and health model for his youngster. A form of discrimination or a serious health policy by the British authorities?
I'll let you determine the answer. Take a look at news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7823707.stm
for the original story from Britain.
Oh my gawd...he sat on the fuckin baby!
Naw...actually anonymous I read the story. I told you what I felt about Britain and the amount of control they exert over their society in general.
Actually, they said the father was at health risk and could die because of his weight.
Myself, I don't see what the bearing is on the piece I wrote. If a person thinks they are happy being obese, well, that is their choice.
I am observing trends in society and I for one do not think that obesity is a condition that results in or is the result of happiness.
Voila, this is what I think, now why do you think this story has any relation to this piece?
I would really like to know.
By the way, I eat plenty good stuff. I only have coffee for breakfast, but I always eat lunch.
Today, I had pumpkin soup with croutons, some fresh grated carrot salad, a few morsels of different cheeses (some very ripe munster gerome and a piece of livarot) and the end of a great saucisson I got for Christmas.
There was bread and our homemade yoghurt with fig/walnut preserves.
I spent the day outside working and tonight, my wife is making tartiflette, which I adore!
I am not against food or into any kind of extreme diet, but I believe by eating well prepared good food and enjoying it, I am always hungry when I eat and I appreciate it.
It's important to eat when you are hungry...and if you eat lunch at the same time everyday, your body knows when it is time to eat.
It's important to be active.
I am 59 now and I weigh the same as when I was 24 and wear the same size pants. I admit that I work at it and exercise a lot, but I feel young and do a lot of bike riding.
It makes me happy.
I too was not being judgmental, merely suggesting that the issue of food has a variety of possible and sometimes insidious results that influence happiness. (Let us not forget the recent Chinese melamine addition to the global diet as well as the obvious and continuous possibilites of samonella and E-colli contamination.) I am glad you dine well and enjoy fine health; alas, your Third World neighbors (some living in France) might even relish that horrendous Mikey D. experience that you describe.
I didn't mean to go off seeming to brag...I actually gained a lot of weight while living in New York and I was not happy with myself. I had been a musician for years, then started to lead a rather sedentary life 9 to 5...I drank way too much beer and ate badly.
I started biking and working out and trying to eat on a schedule. My love of food actually saved me, I believe.
Yes, there are McDonald restaurants in driving distance of me...the nearest one is about 40 minutes...
It arrived with the new autoroute.
The trends I noted in American society are being experienced here in France, but since the health system here deals so much with preventitive care, tthe issue of weight is one that is addressed early on.
There are still a lot of healthy skinny kids every where, but there are more little sausages waddling about these days.
I am very concerned with the quality of the food and where it comes from. My wife and I are fervent organic gardeners and raise quite a bit of the vegetables we eat. I am the king of raspberries!
Post a Comment