An obesity epidemic is spreading across the globe and hitting the poor particularly hard.
Overweight and obesity are on the rise around the world, from Egypt to Papua New Guinea. Shifts in nutrition and lifestyle, in many cases to more "Western" habits, are probably responsible.
Ten to 12 nations in the developing world have levels of overweight and obesity exceeding those of the US. And in many low-to middle-income countries and people are getting fat at an accelerating rate.
In Egypt, for example, 70% of adult women are overweight and half of men are, according to 1998 figures. The prevalence of overweight and obesity in Mexico is nearly equal to that in the US, but is growing at a much faster rate.
A number of factors are driving this phenomenon. Fewer people are working in physically demanding occupations like farming and mining, and the physical exertion required in many types of occupations is declining. More people have televisions and cars, and ownership of both items is known to increase obesity risk.
A highly processed diet -- along with inactivity -- is the likely culprit in the high rates of obesity seen among a group of aborigines living in Australia's central desert. Originally hunters and foragers, they now eat a diet that is "entirely store bought and provided by truck.
While a high rate of infectious disease seems to be keeping children's weight in check, many of the adults are obese. You get very small children all of a sudden exploding into obese adults.
The fattening of the world's population is likely to have massive public health consequences. India and China are reporting more new cases of type 2 diabetes than the rest of the world combined.
Annual Meeting of the American Academy for the Advancement of Science's New York February 16, 2002
A staggering 61% of American adults currently meet the scientific definition of obesity, putting them at increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, stroke, arthritis, depression and several forms of cancer.
Obesity rates among US adults have gone up 30% since the late 1970s. Meanwhile, just one third of US adults meet experts' recommendations for at least 30 minutes of exercise 5 days per week.
This is probably the most sedentary generation of people in the history of the world.
Unfortunately nearly all of the traditional approaches to relieving obesity don't work very well. Folks this is not rocket science. It is not that obesity is a neutral frame. Most people who are obese are not happy about it and would like to change to a normal weight. They are quite familiar with the health implications.
However they have two major problems.
The first is that most "experts" are providing them with incorrect information, as the surgeon general states above. The problem is not the fat, but it is the excess grain carbohydrates. Anyone who has reviewed my eating plan is familiar with this.
However, even if people understand what they need to do, which is quite simply to replace grains with vegetable greens, they still are unable to do this.
Fortunately there are some effective tools that address the emotional attachments and addictive elements that impair one's ability to follow this program.
We have had a fair measure of success using EFT for this problem. However, addressing complex behavioral issues like eating usually requires a skilled therapist to help you address these issues.
In the near future I hope to have a list of qualified EFT therapists so you can identify one close to your home.
Until that time you might want to consider a number of different ways in which you can learn EFT.
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