RT, Jan 3, 2014
The study carried out by the UK-based think-tank Overseas Development Institute (ODI) reveals the rate of obesity in developing countries is almost double that in developed countries.
“The evidence is well-established: obesity, together with
excessive consumption of fat and salt, is linked to the rising
global incidence of non-communicable diseases including some
cancers, diabetes, heart disease and strokes,” the report
says.
If world governments do not move to change eating habits, the ODI
predicts a “huge increase” in heart disease, strokes and
diabetes. Attempts up until now by politicians have been
decidedly tentative as if they were “afraid to meddle with
diets and thereby alienate consumers as well as farming and food
industry interests.”
The study flags some countries as exemplary in the push to change
eating habits. Denmark banned trans-fatty acids (TFA) in 2004
which, as a result, has reduced the Danish population’s
prevalence for heart disease. In addition, investment in ad
campaigns in South Korea and the large-scale training of women to
prepare meals high in vegetable content and low in fat has
improved nutrition in the country.
A long-term push to reduce the amount of calories consumed by a
population has never been undertaken and therefore it is
impossible to know what might be achieved.
“This has never been attempted, with the rare exception of the
wartime rationing in Britain, which stands out as an unusual
natural experiment that led to better health,” writes the
study, adding that the British were quick to go back to old
habits when food supplies were normalized.
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