The problem is global and growing
Like the Great Depression, the problem of childhood obesity seems to have begun in the US, but it has spread worldwide. Developing countries are quickly catching up to the industrial world with a recent estimation of 22 million children under the age of five who weigh more than 20 percent of their ideal weight. Westernized countries, such as Canada, Australia, and the UK, are investing considerable time and resources in combating the problem but, so far, have met with little success. A recent report published in the International Journal of Pediatrics predicts that nearly half the children in North and South America will be overweight within the next couple of years.
It is every bit as bad to the east of us. China, a country known for its slim population, is catching up with a vengeance. In a country where parents remember severe famine less than half a century ago, the children are blowing up faster than Violet Beauregarde in Charlie and Chocolate Factory. In just ten years, the childhood obesity rate in China has doubled. The Chinese government, like most governments around the world, is concerned about the enormous health and economic implications of this alarming trend.
Let’s not have a war on obesity. How about a summit?
Neither obesity nor food is the enemy. There is no need to muster an all-out assault, especially before we even have a grasp of the situation. I’ve heard it said that defining a problem is 50 percent of solving it, but we have yet to clearly define this problem. We have made undeniable progress in the arena of world hunger. It was perhaps a little easier; starving people need more food. It seems pretty obvious that the obesity problem is more complex than just “less food.”
We can use this current situation to examine patterns and strategies. We must adapt to the changing world. Failure to do so will mean extinction for our species, just as surely as climate change wiped out the dinosaurs. We must change our behavior, not our biology. This is certainly possible. Today’s world requires very little in the way of physical labor, but our bodies still need physical activity. Newton’s First Law of Motion is the Law of Inertia—a body at rest tends to stay at rest. I am quite certain Newton could never have predicted just how sedentary people would become.
We have successful eliminated major health problems in the past, and we can do it again.
We wiped out smallpox, polio, and diphtheria with vaccines, but a vaccine won’t solve this particular problem. As they often do, people are looking to the government for a solution, but this is not up to the government. It’s up to us. We have state of the art technology and tools. We have unprecedented opportunities for communication, research, and education. We have a common goal and a sense of urgency. If we work together, we can find new and creative ways to get our collective rear in gear.
The future may be brighter than we think.
