According to The Sun, 2 Billion people across the world are obese!
Can you imagine, 2 BILLION? It is hard to believe.
I was obese already sometime in the late 1960s. I don’t remember exactly when, but it had already happened by the time that I was in my early years of elementary school. I was born in 1962, and I certainly was obese sometime in the 60s, so I can be sure that I was 8 years old or less when I became obese.
I left the USA and moved to the Philippines at the age of 38. I was most certainly morbidly obese at that time. I weighed 430 pounds at the time I moved to the Philippines.
I remember the first time I came to the Philippines. You could look all around most any City or Town in the Philippines then, in 1990, and you would rarely see a person who even had 5 pounds of extra body fat. Another thing that you really did not see much of were American restaurants of any kind. Now, these days, you have the #1 fast food restaurant in the country which is a copy of a US fast food place. You have McDonald’s, Burger King, Dairy Queen, Pizza Hut, Shakey’s Pizza, TGI Fridays, Bon Chon Chicken, KFC, oh my, those are just off the top of my head, there must be many more that I can’t think of in an instant. You know what? In addition to all of those American fast food places, you have just as many, probably more Filipino fast food places that are just basically copying what is popular in America.
As I said previously, the first time I came to the Philippines, in 1990, 27 years ago, it was rare to see a person that was even 5 pounds overweight. I did see one obese person while I was visiting here. I was here for 4 weeks, out and about every day, and saw only a single obese person in that time! Isn’t that amazing? Now, 27 years later, things are much different. I would say it is rare now to see a super thin person. There are lots of thin people, but the majority of the people are heavy, or fat. Not obese, but overweight. There are plenty of obese people here now. That includes me, so I am not criticizing them. I am working my way down, though, and I hope that by the end of 2017 I won’t be obese anymore! I think it is very possible that will be the case.
But, think about this, in Asia, some 20 or 30 years ago, almost everybody was thin. Over those years we had an invasion of American food here. We had all of the fast food. All of the carbs. What are the most popular foods in the Philippines? Well, for the most part, it is not the Asian cuisines that you would expect. It is things like Rice (of course it is #1), Spaghetti (no special occasion goes by without Spaghetti), Bread (most Filipinos eat nothing but bread for breakfast), Fried Chicken (another one at the top of the heap, and the Fried chicken here has super heavy and thick layers of breading). We are talking very unhealthy stuff, and just looking at the people walking down the street, you can tell that big changes, not positive changes, have taken place here in the past quarter-century.
So, if Asia is getting fat, can you imagine how that 2 Billion number will explode in the next quarter-century? I can assure you, I think that it could possibly go up 50% or even 100% in that span of time.
Honestly, the thin places in the world have been Asia and Africa during our lifetimes. I wonder what it is like in Africa. My imagination says that it is still a relatively thin society, even with malnourished people, but I don’t know. Maybe a reader can leave a comment if they know what weight trends are in Africa.
When I lived in the States, right up until the late 90s, not that long ago in relative terms, I was unusual. I was the obese guy. Not many others came anywhere near my weight. But, sometimes I see things like newscasts from the USA, and when they show shots of people on the streets and such, it would seem that obesity is more the norm than being the unusual thing now. It is very sad.
I am glad that I am turning around my health, my hope is that the entire world will change, though, and become thinner instead of fatter. And, can you imagine the number of people suffering from weight-related sicknesses like diabetes and other diseases? Out of 2 Billion, the number is going to be high, and will continue to increase!
When I first came to the Philippines 35 years ago, I saw very few overweight people. Now, overweight, and even obese people are quite common in Philippines, especially the kids – just like in the US.
Exactly my experience too, Mike!
That is exactly the same that I have seen, Mike! Very sad.
The rise of fast food…has a lot of the blame for obesity
I think that is the big one, Will.
Right on the mark Bob. The Western American and European diets are very unhealthy. Those have been incorporated into Asia, Philippines as well. I am vegetarian and still a bit overweight and I am trying to lose a few. Hopefully, we can get he word out that living healthy is the way to go. If you have your health you have the most important thing.
You are so right, Terry, and now we are exporting that unhealthy diet to places that used to be very healthy areas! Good luck on your weight loss journey, I hope it works out well for you. Health is Wealth!
Processed food.. food as entertainment.. lack of movement .. Chickens that never leave the coop, beef feed with steroids and hormones are al the reasons why the western world is obese.
All of that sure adds up Wally, you’re right on that.
but like you have recently found out and I have rediscovered its not the fat that is bad its the simple/processed carbs that are the killers and whats more the official dietary recommendations (backed by the food lobby) still recommend rice, bread, pasta, Orange and Apple Juice which broken down are pure sugar. Society used to eat light for breakfast, 1 sandwich for lunch and a moderate dinner. Nows its full on breakfast, lunch is hot most everywhere I go, dinner is a full meal, in between is coffee Lattes, Mocas, etc.. with loads of sugar.. so that all adds up quickly.
Exactly true, the pad is the best thing you can eat. Those carbs are killers. But the government keeps recommending them.
Bob Martin, It’s really sad how obese the world has gotten. I just wish the Philippines had more organic food options in the stores. Processed foods are not all bad, you just have to look at the ingredients. Been sticking to the 24 hour fasts twice weekly. Seem to have more energy, but i’m worried about losing weight, which I really don’t need.
I know, Randy! I went from being one of the only obese guys around most of the time to being just a kind of “regular guy”. That is very sad. I am glad that I am personally turning that around. Keep on with the fasting, I am finding that it is offering me significant health benefits. Some things I have witnessed through my eyes and seen the healing first hand!
Yes that is truly amazing. I’m slowly getting Anne to change her diet as her blood sugar was up to 123. I think it was a wake up call. She has done pretty good. Making her more aware of carbs. It’s back down to normal and she has lost a few lbs.
Insulin resistance is something that’s not mentioned but it’s a fact a high carb diet causes it..
So, in insulin resistance is definitely mentioned. It is one of the highlights of dr. Fong’s practice.
I heard for many years that type 2 and type 1 diabetes was incurable.. the only solution was insulin or die.. after bariatric patients we suddenly cured before the weight loss came off they changed their tunes.. for a while they said it was the surgery that caused it but in fact most bariatric patients are put on a high protein liquid diet and rarely eat carbs the first month or so so that is probably why they appeared cured.. The Doctors also wondered when the diabetes returned when they returned to a carb diet even after the weight loss.. Very few have put 2 and 2 together but that is changing.
wally I have not seen where the diabetes have returned in By Pass bariatric patients, maybe the banding or the sleeve, but not the by pass. when I see what Bob is doing I see the same diet I eat to stay healthy, we are brothers from another mother.
So true!
anytime the government involves themselves in the free market things go bad, last couple of years we see what the US government has done to the health insurance industry, but decades ago the US government started subsidies for farmers for things like grains (wheat and corn) and potatoes, that made almost anything that had high carbs like bread and corn syrup. these commodities are cheap making a meal at these restaurant cheap too. if the subsidies wasn’t a factor a biscuit, french fries, or a soft drink would be comparable to a steak.
Hi James, everything you say is so true. On top of subsidizing those unhealthy products, the government also came out with its food pyramid which put those products in the must eat category and eat in big quantities. It really messed up a lot of people.