Posted on 11/29/2006 8:13:06 PM PST by FairOpinion
Africa, a continent usually synonymous with hunger, is falling prey to obesity. It's a trend driven by new lifestyles and old beliefs that big is beautiful.
More than one-third of African women and a quarter of African men are estimated to be overweight, and the World Health Organization predicts that will rise to 41 percent and 30 percent respectively in the next 10 years.
Some 56 percent of South African women are now either obese or overweight, compared to fewer than 10 percent who are underweight. More than 17 percent of adolescents here are overweight _ for teenage girls, it's 25 percent, according to the Medical Research Council.
In Cameroon, where the diet is rich in palm oil, cornflower products and red meat, 35 percent of the population is overweight or obese. Similar rates are found in Gambia and Nigeria, particularly among women, according to figures presented at a recent conference organized by the Oxford Health Alliance of health professionals and academics.
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
Outrageous!
At least they are not blaming it on a proliferation od McDonald's and Pizza Huts. Yet ...
Oh for God's sake. You just cannot satisfy liberals. They yell "They're starving!" So we feed them. Then they yell "Now they're fat!!" If we gave them all treadmills and they were in perfect health the next big alarm would be that they are all suffering from existential angst, oh dear, what shall we do????
Let them fend for themselves?
oh dear, what shall we do????
"It's a trend driven by new lifestyles and old beliefs that big is beautiful"
Pommes d'rue. It's driven, as everywhere, by an unknown medical cause that the medical industry refuses to look for.
Elephants and similar animals are much higher in fat content, I'll bet. And they blame us Americans for enjoying a good ribeye.................
I cannot even imagine eating the wild stuff they eat over there as well as in other countries.
...oh dear, what shall we do????
Stop sending Sally Struthers money!!!!
You tell me........I can't add to that. We're starving them, now they are too fat. I'm at a loss for words.
I've also read that corn oil is not good for humans, despite all the industry propaganda.
They may be getting too much carbohydrate in their diet, which will stimulate insulin release, which will take whatever that carbohydrate and turn it into fat.
I'd recommend the book "Lights Out" by T.S. Wiley and Bent Formby. It explains a lot.
You don't get fat unless you are withdrawing less from the calorie bank than you are piling on.
Isn't this good news.
I wonder if they are going through demographic transition yet.
Heh heh heh... oh, I like you already!
I think you are giving this report to much thought. I seriously doubt there is an obesity crisis in Africa.
Love it. Spoken like a true Amurrican!
Fat provides 9 calories per gram while carbs will give you just 4 calories per gram. The amount of calories you derive from fat, or any other source, matters a great deal since it's the overconsumption of calories, in most cases, that causes people to become overweight.
I've also read that corn oil is not good for humans, despite all the industry propaganda.
I think you have the source of the propaganda wrong.
They may be getting too much carbohydrate in their diet, which will stimulate insulin release, which will take whatever that carbohydrate and turn it into fat.
What the body doesn't need for immediate energy is turned into glycogen which is stored in the liver and muscles. If the glycogen reserves are full the body will convert the glucose into depot fat. People get fat because they consume more calories than they burn. Overeating and a sedentary lifestyle are mostly responsible. If you put a rat on a treadmill and feed it nothing but carbohydrates (or fat) it won't gain weight.
I understand that being overweight in many poor countries is a sign of status. If you're skinny you're considered a loser by women.
It is said "That it is a poor man that cannot build a shed over his too*."
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