CB BureauObesity is big: physically, of course, but also in
terms of business for multinationals peddling instantly gratifying junk and
pharmaceutical biggies telling the cure.
Obesity is bad for individuals who are, well, obese:
it decreases productivity and increases the risk of heart disease,
hypertension, diabetes, and certain cancers. World Health Organization (WHO) estimates
that in 2008, 1.5 billion adults, 20 and older, were overweight globally. Of
them, over 200 million men and nearly 300 million women were obese. This is a visibly
huge market and the amount of money to be made from a successful anti-obesity
drug can only be dreamt of. This write-up will, however, not go into the
medical aspect of the battle of/for the bulge.
So, why are we fat in the first place?
More and more people in the developing world are
becoming overweight or obese. Significant increases in the prevalence of
obesity are being reported from numerous developing countries. Childhood
obesity is already epidemic in some areas and on the rise in others. According
to WHO estimates, nearly 43 million children under the age of five were
overweight in 2010. Once considered a high-income-country problem, overweight
and obesity are now on the rise in low- and middle-income countries as well,
particularly in urban settings. Close to 35 million overweight children are
living in developing countries and 8 million in developed countries.
Why is it getting easier and easier to be very fat? Is
it simply because there is more money to buy more food – food that is not
necessarily healthy – and less time or inclination for physical activity? The
more money we have, the more cheap food we are eating”is that it? Ask me how
many packets of potato chips and McDonald’s aloo tikki burger (INR 25) I
consume in a month. Look at the hustle and bustle at a random McDonald’s
outlet, observe how adults and children greedily gobble down their prized
burgers and fries and colas, and you will know redemption is not near at hand.
Never mind the ‘nutrition’ angle that the company has tagged to their
offerings.
Various studies have pointed out that, increasingly,
abundance and under-nutrition are cohabiting in well-to-do, urban household
spaces. As outlined by Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the spectrum of
malnutrition encompasses the entire range of problems that can occur when
dietary energy and/or nutrient intake are insufficient, excessive, or simply
imbalanced.
At one end of the spectrum is the problem of
under-nourishment and under-nutrition, often described in terms of
macronutrients. Low dietary energy supply, wasting, stunting, underweight, and
low body mass index (BMI) are all used to identify the problem. This energy
deficit leaves its victims prone to illness and early death; it also makes them
listless and unable to concentrate. At the other end of the spectrum is the
problem of over-nourishment, leading to overweight and obesity. A high BMI is
one indicator of the problem. Already a well-known phenomenon in developed
countries, obesity is increasing among new urban dwellers in the developing
world. This issue has not been given much attention in developing countries
because of the more compelling problems at the other end of the scale. However,
the consequences of obesity can be as serious as the consequences of
underweight.
Malnutrition is not simply caused by a lack of food
overall, but by a lack of high-quality foods. A high-quality diet leading to
optimal nutrition should contain sufficient energy and nutrients, but also limit
the amount of saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, sodium, and added
sugars.
However, the foods that we love are more concentrated
in sugars, saturated fats, and salt, but low in vitamins, minerals, and other
micronutrients. Our consumption of fruits, vegetables, and whole grain cereals
is relatively low. So, the ratio is not balanced at all. And look at the
attitude and words we adopt: e.g., one ‘denies’ oneself the supreme pleasures
of life if one is not eating soaked-in-oil-and-sugar food. Then, for many
middle class Indian families looking for ways to feel city-fied, it is ‘cool’
to be seen at a McDonald’s (no offence meant: the constant reference to the
brand is due to its ubiquitous presence and popularity).
There are many factors dictating changes and
perceptions with regard to our diets: globalization of trade, information, and
culture; technological changes in food production, processing, and
distribution; new patterns of food retailing; higher incomes; demographic
shifts; and urban growth. The rapid emergence of supermarkets is a direct
factor in influencing the nutrition transition in the urban world. Supermarkets
are major channels for the sales of highly processed foods and in this context,
it is important to understand the impact of supermarkets on food consumption
habits and look at supermarkets as a medium (and message) to improve diet
quality.
In 2004, the 192 member states of World Health
Organization called for action on the nutrition transition. The Global Strategy
on Diet, Physical Activity and Health requests countries to implement policies
promoting healthier diets alongside malnutrition reduction. To facilitate the
development of such policies, the strategy calls for more research on the
production, availability, processing, and consumption of food.
WHO says that the food industry can play a significant
role in promoting healthy diets by: (a) reducing the fat, sugar, and salt
content of processed foods; (b) ensuring that healthy and nutritious choices
are available and affordable to all consumers; (c) practising responsible
marketing; and (d) ensuring the availability of healthy food choices. That
said, people need to have the money to afford healthier foods as well as active
discouragement not to choose less-healthy options that may be cheaper and more
convenient.
In our skewed world, ‘healthy’ is expensive, premium,
exclusive. At least, it is positioned as such. Thus, the moment we think
‘organic’, one of the first things that comes to mind is that this will involve
switching over to a more expensive lifestyle. Organic is trendy and not
affordable for everyone. It is so trendy that hardly anyone stops to look at
the irony there. Organic farming is the opposite of industrialized farming;
organic means the absence of synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers”all moderns
inputs that are costly; organic food is not processed with chemical additives
or ionizing radiation. Basically, there is no costly addition. Yet, by virtue
of its rarity, it has become a specialization. In other words, going back to
where we come from is no simple or cheap matter.
Junk is cheap, even dirt cheap at times. And they are
available everywhere. Fact is, cold policies and hot pizzas have served to add
fat to the matter.