A New Epidemic?

After reading the title, many people must think I'm gonna write about Swine Flu.. Yawn, quite boring, eh? Nah, I'm not writing about swine flu.. I'm writing about Obesity..

I'm really jobless, having a lot of free time on my hands, so these crappy topics..

Anyway, Obesity.. Earlier, a problem faced only by rich countries, obesity is spreading rapidly all over the world.. The main reason for this is believed to be urbanization.. Life in cities has kept everyone -- kids and adults -- away from exercise. Fast-paced busy lives, pollution and lifestyle amenities have decreased the importance of physical exertion.

Urban cities are also thriving with unhealthy fast-food joints.. McDonald's and other such American fast-food chains, along with the local fast-food restaurants are also a major reason behind increasing obesity. The modern, working family nowadays has no time to sit down and have a formal meal. This has lead to the practice of snacking -- which eventually leads to more intake of food than necessary. Also, portion sizes are increasing rapidly, too. Along with our lifestyles, our eating habits have started to seem American too.. (Now, is it a bad thing..?? )

Another reason for obesity are supermarkets and ready-to-eat, pre-packaged foodstuffs. Unlike fresh food, these food products have extremely high amounts of sugar, salt, fat and preservatives, so that their shelf-life is increased. These elements contribute into excess weight gain.

And probably the last reason for obesity is the 'Theory of Evolution'! Our forefathers were used to living on minimum amounts of food. According to the 'Thrifty-gene Theory' of weight gain, our bodies were brought up to conserve food and cope with minimum available calories and nutrition. When overwhelmed with unlimited food, excess weight gain and obesity are unavoidable.

No wonder people gain weight these days.. :D