Posted on 09/03/2006 5:56:04 AM PDT by Mrs. Don-o
Obesity has reached pandemic proportions throughout the world and is now the greatest single contributor to chronic disease, an international conference was told here.
"This insidious, creeping pandemic of obesity is now engulfing the entire world," Australia's Monash University professor Paul Zimmet, chair of the 10th International Congress on Obesity, said on the opening day of the conference.
The spread of the problem was "led by affluent western nations, whose physical activity and dietary habits are regrettably being adopted by developing nations," Zimmet told more than 2,000 delegates.
The world now has more fat people than hungry ones, according to World Health Organisation figures, with more than a billion overweight people compared to 800 million who are undernourished.
The congress on obesity is held every four years, with the last three staged in Toronto (1994), Paris (1998) and Sao Paulo (2002).
"The conference will treat obesity as the keystone of all health priorities because it is the single greatest contributor to chronic disease throughout the world," said University of Sydney professor Ian Caterson, the event co-chair.
"There are now more overweight people in the world than undernourished and we are seeing the double burden of the extremes of malnutrition -- undernutrition and overnutrition -- in many developing countries.
"We know this is not about gluttony -- it is the interaction of heredity and environment. We know that small changes can make a big difference in peoples weight and health."
Zimmet said the problem needed urgent solutions -- not just widespread changes to diet and exercise but the rethinking of national policies on urban and social planning, agriculture policy, education, transport and other areas.
He also warned in an opening address that the growth of obesity-related diabetes, or so-called "diabesity", was set to bankrupt health budgets all over the world.
Around 370 speakers and presenters at the six-day congress will discuss a range of issues, including scientific research on how the brain regulates energy and advances in the prevention and clinical management of obesity.
The conference is being attended by academics and health professionals from Australia, Japan, the United States, Britain, Canada, Sweden, Indonesia and New Zealand.
Actually, I don't think of you in that way at all. It was an attempt at humor. Sorry if I offended.
Well, on the bright side, it might just serve to drive home the "Nanny State as the Enemy" reality.
Yes, and most probably are malnourished.
Fox is no better than anyone else when it comes to the "Crusade du Jour," unfortunately.
Taxpayers saddled with obesity costs
Taxpayers foot the doctor’s bill for more than half of obesity-related medical costs, which reached a total of $75 billion in 2003, according to a new study.
When you made the above post, I took it to mean that you agreed with their stats.
That's why I love the 2 designer suits I own. They are both size 4.
Bingo!!!!!
Don't get me wrong, I do buy ice cream (what's on sale) and doritos (sote brand or what's on sale) and oreos (same as doritos) - but those are snacks, not meals and everyone in this house knows the difference.
Of course, then you have to go home and cook it...I won't go into my adventures in cooking learning how to prepare it all. :)
LOL!!! I'm pretty much self taught, myself. And The Joy of Cooking is my bible - even though my cookbook collection now numbers over 250.
From: http://repositories.cdlib.org/tc/surveys/NSC1/
"In 1964, the U.S. Surgeon General formally announced the health risks of tobacco, thereby providing the impetus for one of the most intensive public health interventions in the history of the United States. Spanning several decades, the tobacco control movement has developed an increasingly effective series of social programs and policies designed to encourage nonsmoking and protect nonsmokers from environmental tobacco smoke. In the years following the initiation of the tobacco control movement, the percentage of current cigarette smokers in the American adult population has decreased dramatically from 42.2 percent in 1965 to 22.7 percent in 1999. This decrease translates into about 40 million fewer adult smokers in the United States today than had the rate remained at 42.2 percent. As the Office of Smoking and Health of the CDC notes, “This achievement has few parallels in the history of public health. It was accomplished despite the addictive nature of tobacco and the powerful economic forces promoting its use.”"
...oh...but it looks like Gabz is part of "the war on Big Fat"....
...looks like you guys just want your own private wars... ;)
It's easier for them that way.
Funny, I always picture them like that.
The eerie glow of the monitor, no real human contact.....
I realize that........
But as I pointed out in a different post..that may not hold true for everywhere. I live in a very poor county, agriculture and tourism are what keeps it going. As a rule the kids are not fat, there are some, but they are not the norm. Fresh veggies, poultry, and seafood are readily available and cheaper than packed frozen or "fast food."
My husband still remembers 1st and 2nd grade in Massachusetts. he jokes about how you could tell the rich kids from the poor kids - the rich kids had meatloaf in their lunch box, the poor kids had lobster.
MD: "Well, on the bright side, it might just serve to drive home the "Nanny State as the Enemy" reality."
Sometimes when I have my four year old son in the back seat in his seat I wish I could let him ride up front. But, I also am grateful to know he's safer in the back even if he's there because the state says he must be.
That was meant for the other guy.
...the rich kids had meatloaf in their lunch box, the poor kids had lobster.
What century was that?
Sugary drinks, fast food, TV and laziness.
This knowledge will make me extra vigilant about what we're eating and what activities we're involved in.
If my fellow Americans are slipping into a state of obesity, I for one refuse to follow.
From what I've seen first hand at convenience stores, the roots of the problem are 1) Coke-cola, 2) Doritos and 3) laziness.
I was talking about the replies to the article. The busybodies at this conference can take their fancy-pants solutions to Europe, where, I'm sure, meddling bureacrats at the EU and national levels will take them up on it.
Nice little fantasy, but I don't see Gabz calling for government intervention to produce the perfect body type, for the "greater good".
...looks like you guys just want your own private wars... ;)
Looks like "you guys" have just segued into the next front on the March to Utopia.
Funny how many of the Smoking Nazis are getting a group frisson at the thought of the next Great Crusade.
What courage.
hehehe!
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