Two thousand years ago, the proudest boast was civis romanus sum ["I am a Roman citizen"]. Today, in the world of freedom, the proudest boast is "Ich bin ein Berliner!"... All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words "Ich bin ein Berliner!"As always, being far more interested in the trivial than in the profound, we humans descended into a frivolous debate on whether or not JFK ended up referring to the residents of Berlin or to the jelly doughnut when he said "Berliner."
For all I know, JFK ended up making jelly doughnuts popular. So popular that obesity, fueled by those delicious doughnuts and other fat- and calorie-rich foods and snacks, is not only an American problem anymore but a worldwide trend:
The percentage of adults who are overweight or obese has swelled from 29% in 1980 to 37% in 2013, according to a new study in the Lancet. People in virtually all nations got largerApparently Weird Al was a few years ahead of this development!
And, even in this obesity, China has overtaken the US:
China is home to the largest number anywhere—335m, more than the population of America. This is not just because of its sheer size, but also because economic growth led to cellulite growth: a quarter of adults are now overweight compared with one in ten in 1980Damn, no more chanting of USA! USA! USA! when we are not numero uno.
There is good news in this global obesity trend (yes, of course I am being sarcastic. But, it is real news):
obese men and women who live in U.S. counties with high levels of obesity are much happier than obese men and women who live in slenderer areas. Nor do people of “normal weight” enjoy much of an affective advantage in neighborhoods with more flesh per capita. “This illustrates the importance of looking like the people around you when it comes to satisfaction with life,”So, in a world of fat people, only the lean and hungry will be unhappy? Get me a few truckloads of jelly doughnuts, please. Pronto! And get me one of those feedbags.
2 comments:
Economic growth does lead to cellulite growth ! Ha Ha Ha .
Fatsos do abound everywhere. The Pacific islands lead the world in obesity - which is why Air Samoa calculates your ticket fare by weight :)
The Chinese at least have a genetic disposition to remaining slim. Yes there is obesity there, but imagine what will happen when India becomes richer. Rajalakshmi, with a predisposition to being "healthy", will now assume gargantuan proportions.
I don't know about the Chinese and their genetic propensity. I suspect that anywhere on this planet we are looking at various lifestyle decisions with affluence resulting in extensive fat deposits.
(You and I need are being politically incorrect by talking about this subject, eh, given that we are both far from overweight!!!)
Oh, yeah, India is behind the fat curve only because:
"India’s rural poor are now are offsetting the affluent, urban plump. If you look at India’s middle class alone, the overweight percentage is higher than the world’s average, maybe as much as 40%"
40 percent!!! Higher than the world average!!! Rajalakshmi is already tilting the scales ;)
source: http://t.co/dJm3CPBuJH
Post a Comment