Do we have an obesity problem?
That certainly seems to be the case alright, looking at the figures, and the people more importantly, but is it simplistic to say we have an obesity problem?
I ask because this is a major problem and there has to be a root cause.
Is it the foods? I wouldn't have said so, because unhealthy foods are no more accessible in this country than they are in many, many other countries whose people are not getting fatter by the year. In fact, unhealthy foods are no more accessible now than they were 10 or 15 years ago, are they?
Right, so it's the people? Well, yes and no. Nowadays we consciously choose to consume certain foods, which is no harm, but there has to be a reason why we're consuming it far more often. It's not laziness. You could go the gym every single day but if you don't alter your eating habits then you will become obese. There's a nutritional reason behind this problem; not one which involves a lack of exercise, which is quite a common view I think.
What's the real reason then? I think we're quite a stressed-out bunch of people, and if we're regularly stressed then we might've become quite an unhappy bunch of people. A lot of heroin addicts were unhappy prior to picking up a needle, but the every-day man or woman can't turn to heroin, or alcohol albeit to a much lesser extent, so we sooth some very dark, uncomfortable emotions through unhealthy foods. When it works - and it absolutely does - then we keep doing it, and we inadvertently lay the foundations for our children to pick up the very same habits through sheer apathy toward wholesome, nutritious foods.
Why are we stressed then? No idea. Maybe the economy. Maybe a lot of us have become engulfed in a general gloom which is hard to explain. I don't know, but I do think our obesity problem is more reflective of something else going on. Obesity is the result of something. It's the result of over eating, of course, but over eating is a result of something far deeper and darker than laziness or greed.
I should note that this is an unsubstantiated theory, but I did have a weight problem once upon a time and it's really, really, really sad to see a lot of others now fighting the same issues.
