So, we now officially live in a world with more obese than underfed people.
Research by professor Majid Ezzati on the Lancet shows some interesting data:
- While it's normal to assume a connection between wealth and overeating (see China), rich countries such as Japan and Switzerland have among the lowest BMI indexes and virtually no change in BMI in the last 40 years.
- USA, Britain, Australia, Canada, Ireland, Malta New Zealand and most english speaking countries confirmed for lardasses. Is it the processed meat? The beer? The banter m8?
- Glandular problems, overeating caused by depression, big bones, fat acceptance and other nonsense still not found of in Timor-Leste, Ethiopia and Eritrea.
Ezzati suggests measures such as discounting healthy ingredients and taxing processed food.
While this could work in theory, I believe that nothing will change without some serious work in educating people (especially the poorest) about food selection and preparation.
We lost a couple of generations to post-war wealth. Our grandmothers, who often had to fight famine and prepare meals for 8+ persons, had treasures in their recipe books. We traded those for fast-food chains, processed bullshit and clickbait articles about paleodiets.
Nifty interactive map and more details about Ezzati's research can be found here